We sat down with the managing director of Ruark, Alan O'Rourke to get a deep dive into the great legacy of Ruark and how it led to the release of the new Saber-R speakers and R610 Music Console. So grab a brew and take a journey into the surprising journey of Ruark.
You made some iconic speakers that are still loved today, when and why did you decide to make the move into small audio products?
It wasn’t intentional, but at the turn of the millenium the focus seemed to be more on vision and AV rather than Hi-Fi systems. At the time we responded to this change with our Prologue speaker package and Vita 100 sub/sat system, which were successful, but as Hi-Fi enthusiasts at heart, being honest, this was not a period we really enjoyed.
I’ve always been an avid radio listener and what with the BBC really starting to promote DAB as the future of radio broadcasting around 2002, I thought that it might be a good idea to look at developing our own ‘Hi-Fi’ radio. After investigating the market and looking at what else was available, we started development in earnest, in 2004 and launched our first R1 DAB/FM radio in 2006.
We designed R1 as if it were a small Hi-Fi speaker, so it had a good quality full range driver in a tuned bass reflex cabinet and the result was that it quickly gained recognition as one of the best sounding radios available. At the time the Sunday Telegraph described it as “the Aston Martin of DAB Radios”, which pleased us immensely, as this is just what we set out to achieve. At the time, we fully intended to carry on with the production of our loudspeakers, but with the introduction of our R2 stereo radio and soon after the R4 All-in One system, interest in what we were doing started to grow rapidly, so the decision was taken to put our speakers on ice and go with the flow.
The thing that I really enjoyed about our new venture was that we were attracting attention not just from audio enthusiast, but from a whole new range of customers, and to hear from many that they had never heard their music sound so good, encouraged us greatly that we were doing the right thing.
You’ve done a loop full circle & landed back where it all started, why!?
I’ve always believed in cyclical trends, and after the AV wave, it’s been great to see how turntables and stereo systems have been rising in popularity these past few years and are now firmly back in fashion! With our radios and All-in-One systems having carved a successful niche, the circumstances and timing just seemed right to get back to our roots and launch our first set of speakers in 18 years alongside our new R610 Streaming Amplifier. It also seemed right that we should name them after our very first speakers developed 40+ years ago, and so Sabre-R has been borne. From the outset, we knew that we had to pull out all the stops to make the Sabre-Rs something special, as we will be judged on our past reputation, so we really hope that customers like them as much as we do
Do the new Sabre-R speakers retain that ‘Ruark sound,’ that made your speakers of the past so highly regarded?
I like to think that they do. Loudspeakers, more than any other hi-fi component have their own distinct sound and are certainly not devices that can be designed using CAD and measurements alone. Every speaker designer has their own idea as to what sounds right to them and that’s why two similar sized speakers can often sound quite different. I like to think that the performance and sound balance of our new Sabre-Rs speakers will appeal to many, and I’m confident that they’re going to be well received critically, but at the end of the day it’s important that all customers listen, to make sure that the character of any speaker is right for them.
For you, what is the Ruark sound?
I love listening to sound in general, be it music or just the sounds of the world around me! I try to get out whenever possible to experience live music and being a competent guitarist, I think I have a good idea of what sounds right. The sound of Ruark is dynamic, but not in your face and the bass should be tight and tuneful. The all-important midrange should offer projection when needed and be seamless through the crossover region leading to a high frequency performance that sparkles and adds life to each performance. During development we spend hours listening and tweaking. As with all loudspeakers, small adjustments can make a big difference, but instinctively we know when the sound is right, as rather than tweaking further, we start delving into our music collection and just playing one track after another, enjoying the sound.
You are of course known for the sound of your products but equally you put a lot of emphasis on design and aesthetic. Why is this?
What with my dad’s early training as cabinet and furniture maker, aesthetics have always been important to us and when we started developing our first speakers in the early 1980s, we knew that we had to go the extra mile in terms of design to stand out against some already well established competition. This attention to design has over the years become our obsession and we understand that for many customers who take real pride in their surroundings, design is often equally important to them as sound.
You are already creating amplification products & tuning these yourself in your all-in-one systems. With the R610 stereo amplifier, I imagine you had to go back to the drawing board. Why should somebody look at this product over one of the other British or Japanese brands in the market today?
You’re right! With our radios and all-in-one systems, with signal processing we are able to apply some adaptive equalisation and 3D sound enhancement to provide an impressive sound from a small unit. With R610 we have a device where like other Hi-Fi amplifiers a flat frequency response is a must, and the amplified signal out should accurately match the signal in. On paper it sounds simple, but as with our speakers, over the past 18+ years, we’ve learned a lot about electronics and particularly the importance of board layout, power-supplies and amplifier design. With R610, our aim was to produce a system that delivers an extremely listenable and musical performance at a reasonable price. I fondly remember the likes of the NAD 3020 and Cambridge A&R A60 from the late 1970s! Anyone considering buying their first proper Hi-Fi system then, had to have these two amplifiers on their shortlist, as they delivered a sound that way exceeded their price point, and this is exactly what we think we’ve achieved with R610. Both the R610 Music Console and Sabre-R Speakers will be available separately, but as a package, we think it’s an almost perfect combination for customers who want a system that both looks and sounds fantastic, without spending a fortune. Hi-Fi can sometimes be seen as being stuffy and serious, but like our other products we see R610 and Sabre-R as being a system that a whole family will enjoy.
Ruark are treating people to a product that people have been asking about for a good few years now, in the form of your new Sabre-R bookshelf speakers! – are there any plans to make a floorstanding speaker too?
You’ve read our minds! We do have another model currently in development, but I can state that we have no plans to get back into full scale speaker production with multiple model lines. In our mind, we think that just two or three special and distinctive models including Sabre-R will be enough for us, so watch this space.
What is your favourite product that you have ever designed & why?
That’s a difficult question, as one of the things I enjoy most, is seeing a product come from an idea in our heads to something which we can see, hear and touch. As I’ve said many times before, we design products that we ourselves would want to own, so like a proud new parent, revealing our latest creation to the outside world is a stressful time, as of course we hope that people will like what we’ve produced. Fortunately, most of the time, the response is always as we’d hoped, but I can tell you that the relief is palpable. As for my favourite product, Talisman IIs and our Equinox speakers are high on my list, but I think our original R1 DAB/FM radio would sit at the top, as this started a new phase for Ruark and it’s been an enjoyable ride.
What is your favourite product that you have ever designed & why?
That’s a difficult question, as one of the things I enjoy most, is seeing a product come from an idea in our heads to something which we can see, hear and touch. As I’ve said many times before, we design products that we ourselves would want to own, so like a proud new parent, revealing our latest creation to the outside world is a stressful time, as of course we hope that people will like what we’ve produced. Fortunately, most of the time, the response is always as we’d hoped, but I can tell you that the relief is palpable. As for my favourite product, Talisman IIs and our Equinox speakers are high on my list, but I think our original R1 DAB/FM radio would sit at the top, as this started a new phase for Ruark and it’s been an enjoyable ride.
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