Ruark MR1 Mk2

Usefully compact powered speakers with a sound larger and more ‘hi-fi’ than expected. “They may not satisfy the most frenzied metal fan... but are otherwise ridiculously impressive in view of their tiny size.”

Ruark Audio, once a builder of traditional loudspeakers, has reinvented itself over the last decade through nifty DAB radios and other compact audio systems. These MR1s saw the company putting several of the company’s key technologies into a neat pair of standalone powered speakers. Originally released in 2013, they are now in a Mk2 version, still just as usefully compact.

Size and design

Yep, compact indeed. They stand, basically, 175mm tall by 130mm wide and 135mm deep, so usefully small that you might expect them to be, shall we say, less than full in their sound. (Spoiler: you’d be wrong.)

They certainly have an attractive design, with their rounded edges and the neat wrap, available in “rich walnut veneer” or “soft grey lacquer” finishes, both with grey nonremovable ‘British milled fabric’ grilles. The right speaker is an active unit with connections; the left is passive. A large volume and selection knob (Ruark’s RotoDial) sits on top of the active speaker, and a small triangular section at the bottom of the grille is the receiver for the tiny infrared remote control.

Inside each enclosure is a 20mm silk-dome tweeter and a 75mm bass/midrange driver. Each enclosure is held almost a centimetre from the surface upon which it is placed by four rubber legs, leaving room for their bass reflex ports to fire downwards.

Ruark Audio says that each channel is provided with 20W of Class A/B power, spruiking the design’s claimed sonic advantages over digital amps. The two speakers are linked with a braided cable between the two speakers, terminated at both ends with mono 3.5mm jacks. One clever feature here is that if this cable is removed from the active speaker, it switches to mono operation.

As for inputs, there’s no networking here, so no app control or direct streaming available, but there’s Bluetooth, with optical and analogue audio inputs provided. The Bluetooth includes the aptX codec for Android devices which support it, though not AAC for Apple devices. The optical input here proved to support input signals up to 24 bits and 192kHz sampling. They switch on automatically when a signal is detected. The controls are restricted to level, input selection and on/standby. No EQ required, clearly!

Two options for expansion: there’s a level-controlled subwoofer output should you desire more bass than the speakers are capable of producing. And there’s also battery operation available if you get the optional ‘BackPack II’, which attaches to the back (see bottom right image opposite). This pack delivers around 12 hours of portable performance.

Listening

We can see many people using these as desktop speakers, but we began by giving them proper support on our stands in the location in our system normally occupied by much larger main listening speakers. And size be damned — they filled the room with sound. Two things on volume. First, the speakers went to a very satisfying level on regular music. They will probably not satisfy the most frenzied metal fan, and they lack

the headroom for the crescendos of large orchestral works. But otherwise? Very impressive, and ridiculously impressive in view of their tiny size.

Second, they also have plenty of gain, including with Bluetooth. Many Bluetooth speakers clearly have additional capacity above their maximum Bluetooth volume, only revealed when you switch to analogue input signals. None of that here. You can turn these speakers up loud. While on the subject, each press of the volume key, or click advance on the top control knob, amounted to around two decibels of level adjustment.

Initial impressions were surprising and pleasing. With The Clash’s The Magnificent Seven the sound had bite but fine control, and a very engaging bass line that seemed fully in balance and, while not particularly extended, was nonetheless surprisingly deep considering the compactness of these speakers.

In part that proved an artifact of the particular track. Later, with more familiar tracks from Dire Straits ‘Brothers in Arms’, the familiar bass from Ride Across the River was missing its underpinnings, and there was a hint of zing in the upper frequencies. The latter was easily tamed simply by placing the speakers so that they fired straight ahead, rather than having them angled in towards the listening position.

With Kate Bush’s ‘The Kick Inside’ things seemed a lot more balanced again, especially at the bass end. The thumping part of percussion was entirely absent, of course, but the bass line was strong and tuneful. All this suggests that the speakers provide strong bass performance to a particular cut off — 90Hz or so — and decreasingly little below that point. Subsequent measuring at a medium output showed bass output level down to 110Hz, although with a boost around 200Hz. Compared to the midrange the bass was at -6dB by 80Hz and continued to fall away evenly below that point.

Moving to George Ezra’s album ‘Wanted On Voyage’, that upper frequency zing was confirmed, verging on a slight whistle. To be fair this album has obviously been recorded with radio play in mind, so it isn’t especially restrained at the top end. It depended, too, on the track. Blame It on Me had some vocal elements that verged on piercing, while Budapest was merely brightened by the sound.

Move the Ruarks to a more intimate desktop position and you gain the benefit of their musical subtlety and rich detail. In this closer positioning you can enjoy their fluid dynamics on a whole new level, and hear how they allow plenty of space between instruments in the airy soundstage

We took advantage of the subwoofer output to couple the speakers with a Krix subwoofer (filter set to around 90Hz). This took the performance to a new level. With the Krix in play the zing seemed tamed and the mids and highs felt smoother. The subwoofer output is variable, so once you match the sub level with the speaker output level, they should remain in balance. The sub output is not filtered, though, so you will need a subwoofer with a low-pass filter control on its input.

Conclusion

Of course the Ruarks are ultimately limited by their size, but what’s remarkable is the size that they do manage from such small cabinets, coupled with real hi-fi qualities, not the type of processed sound that lesser Bluetooth speakers invariably delivered. With true stereo separation and musicality, the Ruark MR1 Mk2s are a great pick where such a compact form factor is required.