Caruso All-In-One System By T+A HiFi

In 2008, T+A introduced the first Caruso to the market, and it quickly acquired cult status due to its unique design philosophy and high-quality construction. Its direct successor – the Caruso Blu – continued this heritage in a modernized form, but this newest Caruso undoubtedly represents the greatest step forward in the external appearance and technology, it has been redesigned from the ground up, whilst remaining faithful to its roots.

• The distinction between the Caruso and the Caruso R is that the Caruso has seven internal speaker drivers including a subwoofer driver, whereas the Caruso R is intended to be connected to an external pair of loudspeakers.

Three power amplifiers with 100 watts of continuous power for the subwoofer system and 50 watts each for the mid / high-range units are coupled directly to the loudspeaker chassis. Thanks to the Caruso’s digital signal processor the whole is controlled by an ultra-precise active cross-over unit (active loudspeaker concept). Several different sound characteristics are available, ensuring that the system always delivers excellent sound quality regardless of its positioning. For a device this small, the sonic experience is incredible.

7 Inch Touchscreens

The Caruso R’s command center is the T+A NavigatorOS: a 7” touch-screen combines all elements of the control system and displays cover art directly on the machine itself. The system architecture of the NavigatorOS unites all the machine’s settings, from screen brightness to tone controls for bass, midrange, treble, and loudness. An additional Playscreen is available, which succeeds in visualizing and informing at the same time: metadata has never been displayed in such fine form as here. In addition to touch-screen control, the Caruso R can be operated using the T+A CarusoNavigator app or the FM Caruso remote control handset, which is supplied as standard. The slot for the modern CD disc mechanism is located above the touch panel. It analyses the disc’s TOC data, which then displays cover art and metadata.

Connections

The connection area on the back panel is an impressive reflection of the Caruso R’s versatile nature. From the first day of its development, the Caruso R was intended to be the centerpiece of a versatile, high-quality HiFi system. One key feature was the requirement for a wide-ranging array of playback sources, as sources should not represent a restriction. USB inputs cater to mobile and network sources, while LAN, WLAN, and Bluetooth sockets are also available, their signals converted by the SC 100 – the T+A streaming client. Analog inputs are also available to integrate other gear. The Caruso is T+A’s first product to exploit SC 100, which provides access to services such as Gracenote Music ID, Airable Music Services, Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, and Amazon Music via Alexa. The capabilities of the Internet are no longer just used – they’re raised to a new level.

Streaming Client

A new streaming client, developed specifically for the Caruso, provides access to a vast range of services and sources such as Gracenote Musik ID, Airable Music Services, Spotify Connect, Tidal, and even Amazon Alexa.

The superior sound of the Caruso can be traced to two features: the first is the active design philosophy of the sound system and the quality of the integral loudspeakers, and the second is the adoption of the latest generation of very powerful digital signal processors. Not only does the DSP linearize and optimize the frequency response of the speakers, separating the frequency ranges with a steep cut-off, while also ensuring the dispersion characteristics of all systems maintain the correct phase. The net result is that the Caruso generates a phenomenally well-balanced, natural, and clear sound image throughout the entire listening area. It’s also possible to fine-tune the sound contours to suit the unit’s position in the room. Bass, mid-range, and treble can be fine-tuned, and a very effective loudness function is available.

Loudspeaker

The baseplate of the Caruso carries a high-performance bass driver featuring an extremely large magnet with a deep drawn pole plate and a rigid, well-damped aluminum cone and surround, permitting extremely large excursions. These features enable it to generate a deep bass response at very high levels without suffering distortion. However, even this sophisticated driver would not be capable of delivering such tremendous bass from the Caruso’s small case without the support of two bass-tuned passive radiators, which are located in the left and right side panels, behind the loudspeaker grilles.

The mid/treble range of the left and right channels is handled by two sets of newly developed mid-range drivers and treble dome tweeters, which are inset into the aluminum front panel of the inner case, inclined slightly to left and right. These speakers are very linear in response and reproduce the entire vocal and treble range from 200 Hz to more than 30 kHz with an ultra-wide dispersion angle. Each speaker set is driven directly by its own power amplifier stage that are direct-coupled, without the passive components of conventional crossover units. This active design philosophy maintains a very high damping factor, and helps to optimize the system’s peak handling and radiation characteristics; this is crucial to Caruso’s outstanding spatial sound image. The output stages with their direct-coupled drivers are controlled by the integral DSP, responsible for every aspect of signal processing from linearization to crossover frequencies, and are entirely loss-free in operation.

Aluminum Framework

The weight of the Caruso is an indication of the unit’s internal ruggedness. The case is enormously rigid thanks to its newly developed T+A Aluminium Framework: a complex profiled extrusion acts as the load-bearing support for the entire internal architecture. The result is that the Caruso’s net internal volume is relatively large, which in turn contributes to its astonishing reproduction of very deep bass. Even at extremely high volumes, the case remains resonance-free.

Forbes
“The T+A Caruso is a stunning piece of kit that provides almost anything a HiFi buff could want in a single box… and then some. It can be a bit Teutonic in its interface but everything you need is included plus the app is very stable. The sound quality is impeccable and can rattle the teacups when cranked up. There’s enough amplification for large spaces without the sound getting lost. It’s even loud enough for parties, should we ever be allowed those again. The T+A Caruso is already a success in Germany where the brand is better known. However, T+A has a good dealer network in the UK so there’s no excuse for not going out and giving the Caruso a listen. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2020/11/23/is-the-caruso-2020-a-serious-challenger-to-the-naim-mu-so-qb/?sh=6dc6e5e0196b

Av Forums
“What has surprised me, pretty much from the moment I turned it on though is how close it gets at times whilst being as convenient, user friendly and generally clever as smaller and more ‘normal’ wireless speakers. If you can’t face the system matching hassle, you don’t want the extra boxes, complexity and general faff that comes with breaking things up by role, the T+A starts to make more and more sense. I don’t know how big the market is for a device like this but I suspect it is more significant than you or I as ‘traditionalists’ might expect. This is a unique product but one that works well enough across its many functions and features to earn our enthusiastic Recommendation.”

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/t-a-caruso-all-in-one-speaker-system-review.18146

Techradar
“The T+A Caruso really is a horse of a different colour in that, while it includes power amplifiers, they are uniquely married to the internal speakers (there is a dedicated output to drive T+A’s matching active loudspeakers).”

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/cd-players-and-recorders/ta-caruso-595668/review

Indulgexpress
“All in all, you have a powerhouse of a unit with a 7” touchscreen for control over the functions. The final result is a well-balanced, clear and natural sound image regardless of the listening area.”

https://www.indulgexpress.com/gadgets/smart-home/2019/dec/27/gadget-review-ta-caruso-the-ultimate-compact-all-in-one-music-system-20959.html

CD-Player

• Formats / Frequency responce
  • CD-DA (12cm), CD-R*
  • CD-RW*, Audio CD
  • MPEG 1 Layer 3 (MP3)
  • Windows Media Audio (WMA, DRM not supported) / 2 Hz – 20 kHz/100 dB / CD-Text.

Streaming Client

• Formats : AAC(LC/HEAAC)/WAV/FLAC/MP3/Vorbis/WMA/AMR-NB/AMR-MB/ALAC
• Services : Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, qobuz, Spotify Connect (subscription required). DLNA
• Interfaces : LAN: Fast Ethernet 10/100 Base-T, WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n
• USB : 1 x USB 2,0 Mastermode

Bluetooth

• Standards / Codecs : A2DP 1.2 (Audio), AVRCP 1.4 (Control) / aptX®, MP3, AAC, SBC, Bi-directional sink + source

Tuner

• Internet Radio : Airable Internet Radio Service (> 11000 stations worldwide)
• FM : 87,5 – 108 MHz; sensitivity 1 µV; S/N > 65 dBA
• DAB+ : 168 -240 MHz (band III); sensitivity 2,0 µV, S/N > 96 dBA
• Features : RDS/RDBS, station name (PS), station logo, radiotext (TR)

Amplifier

• Total output power : 200 Watts nominal, 300 Watts peak
• Distortion : < 0,02 %
• Inputs
  • 2 x AUX (RCA) 2 Veff max
  • 1 x USB 2.0 Mastermode,
  • SP/DIF:1 x coax (192 kSps)
  • 1 x TOS-Link (96 kSps)
  • 2 x LAN (1 x uplink, 1 x out)
• Outputs :
  • Pre-Amp (RCA) 2 Veff, subwoofer (RCA)
  • headphone 32 Ohm@30mW (3,5 mm jack)
• Sound Management : 2 channel stereo system with DSP controlled sound characteristics

Loudspeakers

• Drive units
  • 1 x 170 mm long-throw woofer
  • 2 x 170 mm long-throw passiv radiator
  • 2 x 100/40 mm high-performance midrange
  • 2 x 20 mm cloth dometweeter

Mains / Accessories / Dimensions

• Mains supply : 100-127 V, 220 – 240V, 50-60 Hz
• Power consumption : max. 300 Watts, Eco standby < 0,5 Watts, comfort standby 5 W
• Dimensions (H x W x D) : 27 x 29 x 29 cm, 10.6 x 11.4 x 11.4 inch
• Weight : 12 kg, 26.5 lb
• Accessories : Remote control, power cord, USB cable for charging RC, antenna Bluethooth, antenna WLAN, telescopic antenna radio
• Finishes : Case black with silver top and bottom covers

Technical modifications reserved

User manual Caruso