Senso Systems
Ruark launched the original Talisman in 1990, and it did something most speakers never manage, it got people to fall for how it looked before they’d heard a note out of it. That slim silhouette and sloped baffle made it feel like furniture rather than equipment, and it went on to define Ruark’s whole reputation for speakers that look as considered as they sound.
Talisman-R is the fourth generation, launched to mark Ruark’s 40th anniversary. The silhouette is unmistakably the same speaker, but everything underneath it has moved on.
It’s a two-way bass-reflex design, built around a 27mm silk dome tweeter with a neodymium motor and a 165mm NS+ long-throw woofer using a treated fibre cone and a two-layer copper voice coil. The crossover sits at 2.2kHz, optimised second order, built with premium audio-grade film capacitors and low-loss inductors aimed at clean signal transfer and reduced distortion. Sensitivity is rated at 87dB, with a recommended amplifier power of 50-250W.
The cabinet is where a lot of the real engineering has gone. Ruark’s new decoupled baffle design mounts the front baffle on elastomer bushes rather than bolting it rigidly to the cabinet, which, combined with a dual damping strip, stops vibration from the drivers passing straight into the enclosure. Internally, the cabinet is braced and lined with compound wadding to absorb energy across a wide frequency range and control standing waves. The aim throughout is an enclosure with genuinely low colouration, so what you hear is the drivers, not the box.
Each speaker sits on a plinth machined from solid steel, threaded on each corner for the supplied adjustable rubber feet and carpet spikes. That extra mass lowers the centre of gravity and keeps the speakers firmly planted, while giving them the slightly “floating” look Ruark’s known for when viewed from the front. Grilles are removable, magnetic, and finished in an acoustically transparent fabric.
Available in Fused Walnut veneer with walnut slat trim, or Satin Charcoal lacquer with walnut slat trim, matching Ruark’s wider 100 Series range including the R610 and R710.
£1,499 per pair, available from September.
Two-way bass-reflex floorstanding speaker.
“These really are an incredible piece of kit for the price point.”
Senso team
Pros
Cons
We’ve had the Talisman-R in the studio, and it does exactly what the original did in 1990, gets you on side before you’ve heard a thing, and then backs it up once you have. The bass is the standout, there’s real weight and scale coming out of a cabinet this slim, more than the size has any right to suggest. The decoupled baffle work isn’t just a marketing line either, the sound is clean and doesn’t carry the boxy colouration a lot of floorstanders at this size struggle to avoid.
It’s a speaker that earns its price on scale and finish alone, and then the heritage story and genuinely considered engineering underneath make the case even stronger.
All this for a ridiculously competitive price. It’s a stand out piece of kit.
