Its been a good while since I've tried a tabletop radio with DAB+
capabilities, the last I tried was back in 2010 and that was the Yamaha
TX-130, a solid performer with plenty of sound to satisfy the needs of
anyone in a small room, the problem was - in my view - that the Yamaha
didn't sound very natural as good as it was.
fast forward 5 years and we find tabletop radios a plenty if you know
where to look and all the specialist company's are out there selling
their tabletop radio wears, Tivoli Audio, Sangean and even the cheap
Bush alternative has a model so which to choose?
I wrote about the Ruark R1 several weeks ago, I was impressed with the
sound of this radio given its a portable - or perhaps some may call it a
bedside radio - so then to look at the Ruark R2 which is indeed a fully
fledged tabletop device.
I doubt anyone who purchases the R2 will be disappointed, the Ruark has
the trademark Ruark type sound, perfectly natural, pleasant to the ears
and damy Loud! if you dare to turn the volume up that far, loud the
radio can be but distortion free it is too, an impressive feat given the
radio uses 2 3 inch full range drivers but it just goes to show what can
be achieved if the right drivers are picked along with some good Digital
Sound Processing and some dampening along with a good wooden cabinet.
There are several models of the Ruark R2 available, the Mkii and the
MKiii, the Mkiii has Internet radio and Bluetooth streaming along with
Digital and FM radio, the MKii - subject of this review - has only the
radio and an iPod dock.
The control layout is very similar to that of the Ruark R1 with the
control buttons grouped in a circular pattern around the volume spring
dial, press the dial to get to further adjustments such as loudness, 3D
effect, Bass, Treble, Equaliser and so on.
The R2 has 10 presets - 5 for FM and 5 for Digital Radio - which have
their own dedicated preset buttons, the presets are set in now what
appears to be a standard way by holding the preset button down for 5
seconds.
A remote control unit is provided for remote control of the radio and
your iPod if connected.
Another point of difference between this and other Tabletop radio sets
is the connections the radio boasts, you'll find not only an Aux-In and
Headphones Out connection on the front but a Line-out and Line-in set of
connections on the back, whilst the Aux-In and Headphone out are 3.5MM
stereo minijack sockets the line-in and out on the rear are stereo RCA
type sockets.
Display is clear and easily read, brightness for the display can be
adjusted independently for on and standby modes, a nice touch for a
radio of this kind, you may prefer to have the brightness automatically
adjust when in standby for reading of the clock for example.
--
**********
Those who need help are those who are prepared to help themselves
