Brought to you by
There was a time when audio equipment treated the living room less as a home and more like a place to establish base camp. It came in stacked separates, trailing cables and enough black plastic to make the average living room feel like the IT cupboard of a regional building society.
Ruark has spent the past 40 years championing another way. Founded in 1986 by Alan O’Rourke and his father Brian, the family-owned British audio brand has always approached hifi through the eyes as well as the ears.
Brian had trained as a furniture maker before moving into cabinet work for respected British names including Hacker Radio and Dynatron. Alan brought engineering experience, a lifelong passion for music and an instinctive understanding that the best sound should not require aesthetic compromise.
Over the past four decades, its product range has expanded from loudspeakers to include radios, integrated music systems, compact active speakers and contemporary music consoles. But the underlying idea has remained consistent: music should be beautifully reproduced, and the object that produces it should be beautiful in its own right, too.
As Alan told Square Mile in a recent interview: “We’ve always designed and made products that we ourselves would be proud to own”. It is a simple but powerful maxim. In a world of disposable technology, Ruark’s philosophy feels increasingly rare.
These are not anonymous boxes waiting to be upgraded, but objects intended to live in your home for years. You wouldn’t buy a wardrobe assuming it will be redundant in five years, so why would you do the same with a stereo?
That sense of permanence is central to Ruark’s appeal. Wood is not used as a nostalgic garnish, but as part of the acoustic and emotional architecture of the piece. Controls are designed to be satisfying rather than merely function. And cabinets are considered from every angle, so wherever you choose to position it, it will look good.
This is where Ruark sits so neatly between audio and interiors. Its products are high-performance systems, but they are also design objects – the sort of pieces that can sit on a sideboard, shelf or kitchen counter without making the room feel as if it has been ambushed by a branch of Richer Sounds.
Alan understands this balance better than most. “At Ruark, we design products that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the ear,” he explains. That idea has become more relevant with every passing year. As interiors have softened and technology has become more pervasive, the best design is often the kind that allows the technology to recede.
We design products that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the ear
Ruark calls this philosophy The Art of Listening. It is not just about playback, connectivity or specification sheets, though the technical side clearly matters.
It is about the way music is experienced – the ritual of choosing a record, the texture of a favourite radio station in the morning, the strange emotional alchemy of hearing a track in the room rather than through a pair of headphones.
Good audio does not merely fill a space; it changes the atmosphere of it.
The R810 Made in England radiogram is perhaps the clearest expression yet of this thinking. Relaunched as part of Ruark’s 40th anniversary celebrations, the Made in England project brings together the brand’s Southend-on-Sea development and assembly expertise with highly skilled British craftspeople.
The R810 MiE takes Ruark’s flagship radiogram and elevates it through marquetry – a centuries-old decorative art reimagined for a contemporary home.
Available in two finishes, Penta-Chord Walnut and Leaf-Line Oak, each cabinet is unique, its veneer pattern carefully cut, arranged, bonded, lacquered and hand-sanded to create depth and lustre. The cabinet and grille components are crafted by Storm Furniture, an artisan maker and member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen, before being transported to Ruark’s Southend headquarters for final hand assembly, testing and packing.
Only 50 pieces of each finish will be produced, each bearing an engraved wooden plaque on the rear panel as proof of authenticity. At £6,495, this is not background audio. It is a statement of intent: part radiogram, part furniture, part celebration of British craft.
For all the anniversary reflection, Ruark does not feel like a brand looking backwards. The R810 Made in England is both a tribute and a marker for what comes next – a reminder that heritage is only useful if it continues to evolve.
Forty years on, Ruark’s story is still guided by the same instincts: make it sound beautiful, make it look considered, and make it last.
Ruark R810 Made in England radiogram
Explore the full Ruark range and anniversary launches at ruarkaudio.com. The R810 Made in England radiogram is available in limited quantities via Ruark’s website.
