Old versus new...

[Daylight]

I'm looking at a Ruark R4i CD/DAB radio to replace my venerable Kenwood UD70. I like the idea of an "all in one " machine, but are modern products that much better? In demonstration, the Ruark seemed very slightly muffled, and there seems to be no room for adjustment.

 

[hg]

I'm looking at a Ruark R4i CD/DAB radio to replace my venerable Kenwood UD70. I like the idea of an "all in one " machine, but are modern products that much better? In demonstration, the Ruark seemed very slightly muffled, and there seems to be no room for adjustment.

Sound quality is dominated by the speakers and the ones on the Ruark are both small and badly located for stereo signals. I would expect the sound quality of the Kenwood to be better if the speakers are sensibly located. However sound quality is only one factor and the Ruark may better suit your needs overall. Or perhaps a modern mini system. Or perhaps some ugly proaudio kit from a music shop if maximising sound quality on a tight budget is the dominant factor.