The Ruark 100 Series is our most advanced range of music systems to date, blending sophisticated seventies-inspired styling with state-of-the-art wireless connectivity for a listening experience that brings you closer to the music, radio, podcasts, and movies you love.
Part of that comprehensive connectivity package comes courtesy of Google Cast (formerly known as Chromecast built-in). Supported by both the R410 and R810, Google’s wireless technology allows you to stream your favourite songs and stations right to your Ruark system – no cables necessary.
What is Google Cast?
Google Cast is a clever piece of tech that makes it possible to wirelessly stream content from your phone, tablet, or laptop on your speakers.
Unlike Bluetooth, there’s no need to pair your device with your speaker first – Google Cast speakers cut out the middleman and work over Wi-Fi to deliver better than CD-quality sound.
Another benefit of that Wi-Fi connectivity is the ability to connect more than one device to your speakers at a time, so you can seamlessly switch between Spotify on your laptop and BBC Sounds on your phone.
What’s more, that stable Wi-Fi connection means you can control your speakers from anywhere in the house. While Bluetooth ranges can be interrupted by walls (and seemingly even by giving your phone a dirty look), streaming over Google Cast is a breeze as long as all your devices are hooked up to your home network.
Speaking of walls, you can even use Google Cast to set up a multiroom audio system that distributes sound throughout your entire home (more on that later).
Which apps can I use with Google Cast?
There are lots of apps that support Google Cast streaming, including Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Mixcloud, YouTube Music, and more. If you’re using an Android device, you can even use Google Cast with Apple Music – though for iPhone users, Airplay is the way to go (that’s why our 100 Series also supports AirPlay 2).
With Internet/DAB/DAB+/FM radio, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and a host of analogue ports, that means our R410 and R810 music systems open up an entire world of music and spoken word content.
How to stream music from your phone or tablet to your Ruark speakers with Google Cast
Ready to cast music to your Ruark R410 or R810? You’ll first need to download the Google Home app to your iPhone or Android device to set up your Ruark 100 Series system on your network. The app will walk you through all the steps necessary to get started.
Then, make sure your device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your 100 Series speaker.
Next, head to the Google Cast-enabled app you’d like to cast content from and begin playing a song. To begin playing the music out from your Ruark system, you’ll need to hit the Cast button (it looks like a little grey square overlaid with a Wi-Fi symbol), which can usually be found in the app’s play bar, or in one of the corners of your screen.
For some apps, it’s less obvious. In Spotify, for example, you need to select the ‘Devices’ icon, and then the name of your Ruark speaker. Similarly, Tidal requires you to hit ‘Sound Output’ in the ‘Now Playing’ bar to select your 100 Series system.
Once you’re connected, you’ll be able to cast music, radio stations, and podcasts directly to the Ruark R410/R810 and adjust the volume and playback of content from your mobile device.
How to use Google Cast to stream music from your laptop to your Ruark speakers
Prefer to stream music via a browser on your laptop or computer? Simply open the Chrome browser and make sure you have the Cast extension from the Chrome Web Store installed.
You can then visit any website and click the Cast button in your browser to hook up your Ruark speaker.
How to use Google Cast for multiroom audio
If you want to fill your entire home with sound, Google Cast speakers can be assigned to groups, allowing you to essentially use them as one, powerful device all playing in unison.
So, if you have a Ruark R410 in your kitchen and an R810 in your living room, you can soundtrack an entire house party via the Google Home app. It will even work with Google’s own devices, such as the Nest Audio, or with other third-party Google Cast speakers.
To get started, go to the Google Home app, then click on Devices. From there, tap the menu icon, and you should see a list of all your Google Cast devices. If you have more than one, the Create Group option will be displayed – in the event you can’t see all your devices listed, make sure they are all connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Does the Ruark 100 Series support Google Assistant?
Yes – if you have a Google Nest device in your home to act as a microphone, you can control the playback of your R410 or R810 using your voice alone.
You’ll just need to make sure you’ve enabled Google Assistant voice control on your Nest device.
Once that’s done, you can give your Google Nest all kinds of commands for easy hands-free control of your music on your 100 Series speakers, as well as asking the virtual assistant different questions or controlling your connected smart home devices.
Google’s Voice Match technology can even recognise different voices to give you personalised answers – handy if your household has multiple Google users that want to hear information about their calendar events, commutes, and days.
Here are a few prompts to get you started:
“Hey Google, play BBC Radio 2 on R410”
“OK Google, turn down the volume on R810”
“Hey Google, what’s the weather forecast for today?”
“OK Google, dim my lights by 50%”
“Hey Google, what’s coming up in my calendar this week?”
Not keen on having Google’s clever voice assistant listening in? No problem – simply select Google Assistant in the Settings tab of the Google Home app. Then, click on Manage All Assistant Settings, then Select Devices, to add or remove speakers connected to your Assistant.
