The Article
HIFI NEWS: FERRUM, RUARK & MORE! : 8 AUGUST 2026 (TEXT & VIDEO)
11th August 2026
Welcome to HiFi News for 8 August 2026
FERRUM BROEN NETWORK STREAMING TRANSPORT
At the heart of Broen is Ferrum’s newly developed Serce DDC module (Digital to Digital Converter) which focuses exclusively on digital processing, separating the input and output domains. Isolated audio outputs and ultra-low jitter audio clocks are also included.
Broen supports both wired and wireless networking, with conventional Wi-Fi connectivity joined by a modular SFP port that accepts either a standard Ethernet module or an optical module.
Powered by the Volumio streaming platform, you can access Spotify and Spotify Connect, TIDAL and TIDAL Connect, Qobuz and Qobuz Connect, AirPlay, UPnP/DLNA, Internet radio, CD playback, multi-room playback, AI-powered SuperSearch, Infinity Playback and enhanced album and artist metadata.
Prices are £1,995, €1,995 and $2,275.
Contact: https://ferrum.audio
RUARK R410 ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Offering a hand-crafted grille and cabinet, finished in White Oak with ebonised inlay and grille and sporting RotoDial controls, only 500 of the R410 all-in-one music system Anniversary Editions will be produced worldwide.
Supporting Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast built-in, the portrait orientation of the front-mounted display is supposed to emulate the way that we view music services on our smartphones.
Also available is a matching limited-edition R-CD100 with ebonised casework.
Supporting up to 32bit/192kHz PSM, Internet, DAB and FM tuners and pushing 120W of Class D amplification through two 20mm tweeters and two 100mm mid/bass units, prices are £1,399 or €1,599
Contact: www.ruarkaudio.com
ROBERTS IN THE SUN
Roberts is offering a new DAB+/FM radio with Bluetooth called the SolarDAB 99, powered by built-in solar panels. It offers an IP55 water and dust protection rating, a 20-hour rechargeable battery plus a dynamo that will provide seven minutes of play from one minute of dynamo cranking.
USB-C charging is available too. Forty presets are available split between 20 for FM stations and 20 for DAB. A 3.5mm headphone output is included.
An LED torch is included for emergencies, alternating red and white lights with SOS morse code plus an emergency siren. Ideal for outdoors use then. Price is £150.
MAJORITY MINI SHELFORD
Majority has announced the launch of the new Mini Shelford, a compact portable Bluetooth DAB+/FM with a retro style.
Offering a 13cm footprint with a rechargeable battery, the Mini Shelford features DAB+ and FM radio, Bluetooth and a full-colour display. A dual alarm, sleep timer and rotary dial controls sit underneath colour finishes of Dusty Rose, Olive, Black and Cream.
Price is £49.95.
Contact: majorityaudio.com
TINY VINYL
That’s right, spanning 4 inches across, running at 33rpm, holding up to four minutes of music and contained in rather nice sleeves, these limited edition releases are created via 100% biomatter.
There are, at the last count, 140 releases either here or on the way. There’s also a new Tiny Vinyl Player record player to play them. The cartridge is off the shelf but most of the rest of the parts – including the arm and platter – are bespoke.
We will hopefully get a UK release later in the year, for now the player is available in the USA via Target for a penny under $50. Individual records are around £15. See them as fun collectables.
If you prefer a video version of this news, click:
By Paul Rigby — Hi-Fi journalist and editor for over 38 years
