T+A CALA CDR
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
88/100
Build Quality
83/100
Features Connectivity
94/100
Value for Money
89/100
The elegant, powerful CALA CDR blends CD playback, streaming, radio, and amplification into a polished all-in-one. Fidelity Magazine praises its flexible DSP tuning, easy network use, and lively 100-watt drive, noting how it can make ordinary speakers sound more capable. It’s a compact, stylish system with serious everyday musical punch.
Pros
Combines CD playback, streaming, radio, and amplification in one compact, versatile unit.
Delivers an elegant yet powerful sound with enough 100-watt headroom to drive everyday speakers confidently.
Offers extensive connectivity and control, including app, remote, Wi-Fi, LAN, Bluetooth, USB, and major streaming services.
DSP-based tone and bass management let users tailor the sound to speakers and room acoustics.
Cons
The control app can occasionally miss commands, making it less reliable than the supplied remote.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 88/100
Reviewers describe the CALA CDR as elegant yet powerful, with a lively all-round character that can make ordinary speakers sound more capable than expected. The sound is praised as polished and engaging rather than flashy, with enough control to support both music and party listening.
Transparency Resolution
87/100
The review points to a refined, well-controlled presentation, and the ability to fine-tune the sound suggests a clean enough window into the music. There is not much explicit talk of extreme detail retrieval or black-background purity, so the praise is more for clarity and polish than forensic resolution.
Tonal Balance Musicality
89/100
The CALA CDR is repeatedly described in pleasing, musical terms: elegant, powerful, and part of a true all-rounder. The reviewer’s emphasis on tone controls and overall versatility suggests a balanced, easy-to-live-with sound rather than a dry or overly clinical character.
Dynamics
90/100
This is one of the strongest parts of the review, with explicit praise for the amplifier’s stable 100 watts per channel and its ability to get the party started. The language suggests good punch, headroom, and a sense that it can drive modest speakers with real authority.
Soundstage Imaging
85/100
The review does not focus heavily on staging precision or holographic imaging. What comes through is more about scale and energetic presentation than pinpoint spatial detail, so the evidence for exceptional depth or layering is limited.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
83/100
The CALA CDR is presented as a slim, carefully finished component with aluminum housing and an understated look that should fit easily into a living space. At the same time, the review gives little direct information about internal construction, thermal management, or long-term durability, so the evidence stays fairly limited.
Features Connectivity
94/100
This is a richly equipped all-in-one unit with streaming, Wi-Fi, LAN, Bluetooth, two USB ports, digital inputs, analog inputs, FM/DAB+, CD playback, app control, remote control, and support for services such as Qobuz, Tidal, and Roon Ready. Reviewers also highlight the ability to use it as a network streaming client and praise the breadth of control and connectivity options, with only minor complaints about the app occasionally missing commands.
Value for Money
89/100
The review frames the CALA CDR as an impressive do-everything machine rather than a stripped-down specialist, and the praise suggests the asking price is easier to justify when all of its functions are considered together. It is not described as a bargain, but it is presented as a compelling package in its class, especially for buyers who want one component to cover CD, streaming, radio, and amplification.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Formats
- CD/DA, CD-R, CD-RW
- Frequency response
- 2 Hz - 20 kHz / 100 dB
- Features
- CD-Text
- Formats
- MP3, AAC, OGG-Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC
- Data rates
- PCM 32...192 kHz,16/32 Bit; MP3 up to 320 kBit; constant and variable data rate
- Features
- Gapless Playback for MP3 (Lame), WAV, FLAC T+A MusicNavigator App for iOS and Android
- Standards
- UPnP AV
- Services
- Tidal, Deezer, qobuz, Roon Ready (subscription required)
- Interfaces
- LAN: Fast Ethernet 10/100 Base-T, WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n with WPS
- Protocol
- A2DP Bluetooth audio protocol AVRCP control MP 3, AAC, SBC
- Mode
- 2 x USB 2.0 Mastermode
- Internet Radio
- airable Internet Radio Service (> 11000 Stations worldwide)
- FM, FM-HD
- 87,5 - 108 MHz; Sensitivity 1 μV; S/N > 65dBA
- DAB, DAB+
- 168 -240 MHz (Band III); Sensitivity 2,0 μV, S/N > 96 dBA.
- Features
- RDS/RDBS, Station name (PS), Program type (PTY), Radiotext (RT), Clock
- Inputs
- 2 x Aux adjustable sensitivity. Phono and Surround-Pass-Through Mode configurable. SP/DIF: 2x coax (192kHz), 1x TOS-Link (96kHz)
- Nominal output per channel
- 100 Watts into 4 Ohms
- Total harmonic distortion
- < 0,02 %
- Sound management
- DSP controlled sound characteristics / Virtual Surround
- Bass management
- Full range, 40 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz, 150 Hz
- Outputs
- Pre-Amp, Subwoofer, Headphone digital IEC 60958 (CDDA/LPCM)
- Mains
- 100 - 240 V, 50 - 60 Hz
- Power consumption max.
- 200 Watts
- Power consumption idle
- 13 Watts
- ECO-standby
- 0,5 Watt
- Auto power off function
- yes (after 90 minutes without audio signal)
- Accessories
- IR-remote control FM1000; WLAN-antenna; power cord, user manual
- Optional Accessories
- Power Three HD (Carbon) | Power Bar | Audio Triax (Carbon) | Speaker Hex (Carbon)| IP Control
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
- 10,5 x 37 x 24,5 cm / 4,1 x 14,9 x 8,6 inch
- Weight
- 6 kg / 13,2 lb
- Finishes
- Case: Alu silver 43 or Alu black 42, Front: Acrylic black 91
- Specification
- Technical modifications reserved
Manufacturer's Description — T+A
The Streaming CD Receiver
The CALA® CDR has a high-quality CD drive, powerful output stages and a high-performance power supply. More than 100 watts of continuous power are available per channel and also allow the operation of large speakers. The housing is very compact and the base of the CALA® CDR can be illuminated if desired, as we have integrated an LED light strip into the rear part of the unit's back panel. Various color modes and the colors white, blue, green and red are available for ambient lighting and their intensity can be controlled.
Signal Processor
For the CALA® receivers T+A has developed an ingenious fully digital design principle which performs the entire signal processing in the digital domain. This provides a crucial improvement in sound quality, since it eliminates the need for the additional conversion of digital sources; all the data processing is carried out consistently in HD audio quality.
The CALA® is a versatile, fully featured receiver with a great performance, and this is only possible through the use of the latest technologies and components. All the audio signal processing is carried out by a high-performance digital signal processor which generates the sound fields for various set-up conditions and virtual surround, controls - where necessary - all the tone settings and cut-off frequencies for the primary loudspeakers and sub-woofer (bass management), processes and controls the output signals for the speaker channels, and converts the two analogue inputs into digital data, so that these can also be processed digitally.
The integral amplifiers are based on high-speed bridged switching output stages with high continuous power and current delivery capacity. Their output is sufficient even for large loudspeakers and spacious listening rooms. A mains section which is very stable under load makes ample energy available at all times. Naturally a sophisticated protective circuit monitors all the machine’s operating states.
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Authorized dealers for T+A CALA CDR
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- Acoustic Streams — in-store — Lower Drift, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Alen Audio — in-store — Extramurs, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- AUDIO 2000 — in-store — Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (website)
- Audio 46 — online and in-store — New York, New York, United States (website)
- Audio Concierge — online and in-store — England, United Kingdom (website)
- AUDIO EXCLUSIVE — in-store — Wels, Oberösterreich, Austria (website)
- Audio Gallery — online and in-store — Las Rozas de Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
and 102 more verified dealers