Ruark’s new music console and slim speakers are the CD-playing, vinyl-spinning, high-resolution music streaming system your small apartment craves

Ruark unveils R710 Music Console and Talisman-R floorstanding speakers
The R710 is Ruark’s ‘most powerful’ console to date with CD player and phono stage
It costs £2,199 (about $3,000, AU$4,000); The Talisman-R is £1,499 (around $2,000, AU$2,800)

Let me be clear: British audio specialist Ruark is a master of compact hi-fi products – just look at the five-star MR1 Mk3 petite powered desktop speakers for a start.

While the duo of products that Ruark just unveiled at High End Vienna may look heritage, they’re packed with thoroughly modern technology (and some slightly older tech too) beneath their lovely exteriors. And yes, they can definitely be bought together to make a beautifully simple, space-conscious hi-fi system.

These slim floorstanding speakers put me in mind of the electrostatic designs Quad created in collaboration with the BBC in the 1960s, but Ruark tells me they actually harken back to one of the company’s own original flagship designs, first launched in 1990.

Ruark R710 Music Console and Talisman-R Floor Stands: Key Specifications and Prices

The R710 is an update to the company’s Ruark R610 console (and Sabre-R bookshelf speakers), which I loved when I saw them in the flesh back in 2024.

Alongside its built-in CD player, phono stage (so your vinyl spinner can be added as a source) and built-in twin 200W Class-D amplifiers, high-resolution support for music files and streaming is here, at up to 24-bit 384kHz, thanks to the R710’s quad-core Air Connect Tid, Google Connect, Google Connect, Qob Radio, with Spotify, Radio, Apple and apt-X HD Bluetooth all built in.

For local music libraries, the R710 also supports playback from both networked media servers and connected USB storage devices – and if you want to hear your movie soundtracks through it, the R710 also adds an HDMI ARC/eARC connection for TV connection. And while you get a nifty rotary Bluetooth remote with your purchase to make playback control easier (it’s not unlike something aspirational amplification brand Moon can offer), a big selling point for me is the large front-mounted color display for album art and text.

And those Talisman-R speakers? You’re looking at a two-way, bass-reflex passively wired system, consisting of a 27mm Ruark silk-dome tweeter and a 6.5-inch long woofer with a nice long, slim profile and angled front bezel – though be aware that they still weigh a reassuringly hefty 17.6kg each.

Ultimately, Ruark wants you to think of the R710 and Talisman-R speakers as a beautiful system – and I understand that. Both products are available in Fused Walnut or Satin Charcoal paint, and the R710 is priced at £2,199 (so around $2,000 or AU$4,000, as a rough guess) with the Talisman-R at £1,499 (which is $2,000 or AU$2,800).