The T+A Caruso is the flagship all-in-one music system from T+A Elektroakustik, the German manufacturer headquartered in Herford. Originally introduced in 2008, this current generation represents a complete redesign built around a 7-inch HD touchscreen running T+A's NavigatorOS interface — the first T+A product to use the platform. It sits at the top of T+A's Caruso Series, above the speaker-less Caruso R which omits the internal driver array in favour of external loudspeakers.
Loudspeaker Array
Seven drive units are arranged inside the compact aluminium enclosure in a 2-channel stereo active configuration. A 170mm long-throw woofer handles bass duties, reinforced by two 170mm passive radiators that extend low-frequency output without requiring a larger cabinet volume. Midrange is handled by two 100/40mm drivers allocated left and right, while two 20mm cloth dome tweeters complete the array. The entire system is managed by an active crossover with digital signal processing, allowing the user to adjust bass, midrange, and treble characteristics to suit the room.
Amplification
Three integral power amplifiers deliver a combined 200 watts continuous (300 watts peak). The subwoofer channel receives 100 watts, with 50 watts allocated to each of the mid/high channels. Total harmonic distortion is rated below 0.02%.
Sources & Streaming
The Caruso integrates a slot-loading CD mechanism (CD-DA, CD-R/RW) with cover art display capability, alongside FM (87.5–108 MHz) and DAB+ (168–240 MHz) tuners with RDS. Internet radio is provided via Airable, offering access to over 11,000 stations. Network streaming supports Spotify Connect, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, and Qobuz natively, with DLNA compatibility for local library playback. Supported audio formats include WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, Vorbis, MP3, and WMA.
Connectivity
Physical connections include two analogue RCA inputs (auxiliary and turntable), coaxial S/PDIF and TOS-Link optical digital inputs, USB 2.0 in master mode, and an Ethernet LAN port. Wireless connectivity covers Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and bidirectional Bluetooth supporting aptX, AAC, and SBC codecs — the Caruso can both receive audio from a phone and transmit to Bluetooth headphones. Outputs include pre-amplifier RCA, a dedicated subwoofer output, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. AirPlay 2 is also supported.
Design & Control
The enclosure is constructed from an aluminium framework finished in a choice of lacquers. The front panel is dominated by the 7-inch HD touchscreen, which serves as the primary interface via NavigatorOS. An FM Caruso remote control handset is included, and the T+A CarusoNavigator mobile app provides additional control. Ambient LED lighting with variable intensity can be set to white, blue, green, or red.