Ruark MR1 Mk3

Stylish desktop speakers get a powerful upgrade

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We have been big fans of Ruark Audio's charming MR1 Mk2 powered Bluetooth speakers ever since we reviewed them back in 2017, bestowing upon them a glowing five-star review and seven consecutive best desktop speaker wins at the What Hi-Fi? Awards. A sequel was a long time coming, with Ruark no doubt finding it tricky to improve on such a winning combination of petite size, musical sound and affordable price without changing things drastically.

With the latest Mk3 model, the British audio brand has evolved the design, adding new audio inputs and upgrading the sound with a bigger driver and new amplification technology - all without increasing the price or footprint by too much.

The MR1 speakers have always been a compelling proposition because of their compact, genuinely desktop-fitting size and charming looks. Ruark has made the new-generation speaker's cabinet size a tad bigger and fitted a larger mid/bass driver, while still retaining that compact footprint that fits so neatly on either side of a laptop.

The MR1 Mk3's cabinet is roughly 3cm deeper and a couple of centimetres taller and so has a bigger internal volume; the MR1 Mk2 look rather petite next to them, but the MR1 Mk3 remain much smaller than their desktop speaker rivals here.

Ruark has also taken the chance to refine the already attractive design even further. The rich walnut veneer of our review sample is now a seamless wrap around the cabinet with no discernible break in the grain, where it was composed of separate panels in the Mk2 model. The woven fabric grille is a darker slate colour too. The rich walnut finish is lovely; an alternative charcoal lacquer option is also available.