The Marantz PM6007 is the premium of the class: the most expensive of our entry integrated amps — it nudges the six-hundred-euro ceiling — and the one that, in return, gives you more. Because it is not only an excellent amplifier for vinyl: it has a quality DAC already inside, with digital inputs, and that makes it the only one in the selection that handles vinyl and digital sources in a single machine, with no compromise on sound.
It is our number two, behind the Rega io, and the choice between the two is a choice of philosophy. One clarification on the model: this is the PM6007, the current model of the line, not the PM6006 that preceded it — we say what changes further down.
Context
Marantz is a long-established house with a recognisable sound: warm, full, relaxed — "musicality" the Marantz way, made of body and refinement rather than aggression. The PM6007 brings that character to the entry class, with the company's current-feedback technology and a phono stage Marantz has always cared about.
In our ranking of entry integrated amps it takes second place, with the premium badge. It is not second because it sounds worse than the Rega — on some things it does more — but because it costs more, and because the ranking rewards, in first place, the vinyl purist. The Marantz plays a different card: completeness.
Design & build
The build is substantial, more so than the Rega io: a serious metal chassis, a toroidal transformer, nearly eight kilos on the scale. You can feel it is a "full" machine, the kind that gives an impression of solidity the moment you lift it. On the front are the tone controls (bass and treble) and the Source Direct button that bypasses them for the cleanest path, plus a dedicated, discrete headphone output.
But the highlight is round the back: the AK4490 DAC. It is a converter of real quality — not a stopgap chip — paired with two optical inputs and one coaxial that accept files up to 192 kHz / 24-bit, with two selectable digital filters to shape the sound. In practice, you connect a CD player, a TV or a streamer and you do not need an external DAC: it is already on board, and it is good. There is also a subwoofer output and A/B terminals for two pairs of speakers.
Sound analysis
This is where it earns the "premium". The PM6007 has the Marantz sound in its most accessible form: warm, full, smooth, never fatiguing. On a voice or an acoustic record — a vocal jazz cut, a classical recording — it returns body and warmth with a wide soundstage and an elegance that invites long sessions. It is the amp for relaxing into the music, not for being assaulted by it.
Against the Rega io, the character is different: where the Rega puts rhythm and drive to the fore — it is more "alive", more engaging rhythmically — the Marantz puts refinement, body and flow. Neither is "better" in absolute terms: they are two ideas of musicality. Its MM phono stage, with a FET input, is regarded as the smoothest and most refined in the class, and alone it earns its place in the ranking.
Vinyl performance
On vinyl the PM6007 is at its best with music of body and atmosphere: acoustic, voice, classical, jazz. The MM phono stage — a new circuit, inherited from the PM7000N, with a FET input to lower noise and distortion — is smooth and full, faithful to the Marantz character. You connect the turntable directly and you do not need an external preamp.
The limit, consistent with the house, is the same as the other amps with a phono stage in this class: it is MM only, so with a moving-coil cartridge you need an external MC preamp. But for those who listen to vinyl with an MM and also want to handle digital sources without adding boxes, the PM6007 does both, and does them well.
Value & competition
The PM6007 is the most expensive of the five, and the price must be justified. It justifies it with three things the others, in this class, do not bring together: the AK4490 DAC with digital inputs, a more substantial build, and the most refined MM phono of the group. If your world is only vinyl and you want the most return per euro, the Rega io costs less and is more engaging rhythmically. But if you also listen from CD, TV or a streamer, the Marantz saves you the external DAC and puts everything in one chassis.
Against the NAD, which bets on the hybrid and Bluetooth — wireless digital, a more modern soul — the Marantz is the traditional done well, with wired digital of higher quality. It is the amp for those who want analogue warmth and a serious DAC, without streaming and without compromise on sound. In a word: completeness, against the Rega's purity and the NAD's modernity.
In the vinyl chain
The PM6007 is the centre of a chain that is not only vinyl: a turntable with an MM cartridge in the phono input, but also a CD player or a streamer in the digital inputs, all in a single machine. With 45 watts into 8 ohms (and 60 into 4) it has more headroom than the Rega io, and its current reserve drives even slightly more demanding speakers well — a Dali Oberon 3, for example, which asks for current, gets on better with it than with 30 watts.
In our speaker ranking you will find suitable pairings. It is also the right amp when a chain — the idea of the £1500 system, reaching up — must accommodate both vinyl and digital without adding a separate converter.
- AK4490 DAC with digital inputs (up to 192/24): vinyl and digital in one amp
- Warm, full, relaxed Marantz sound, ideal for long sessions
- MM phono stage with FET input: the most refined in the class
- Substantial build, tone controls, dedicated headphone output, remote
- The most expensive of the selection (nudges €600)
- No Bluetooth or streaming: digital is wired only
- MM-only phono: with a moving coil you need an external MC preamp
- Less immediate and rhythmic than the Rega io on pure vinyl
Speakers: bookshelf models of normal sensitivity; thanks to its 45 W (60 into 4 ohms) it also handles slightly demanding speakers like the Dali Oberon 3. Turntable: any with an MM cartridge, into the phono input. Digital sources: a CD player, TV or streamer into the optical/coaxial inputs — no external DAC. Headphones: a good dedicated output.
Verdict
Buy the Marantz PM6007 if you want a single machine that does two jobs well: vinyl with a refined phono stage and digital sources with a real DAC, all with the warm, relaxed Marantz sound and a substantial build. It is the premium of the class, and it is the choice for those who do not want to compromise between analogue and digital.
It is not for you if you listen only to vinyl and want the most return per euro with the most rhythmic sound — there the Rega io costs less and hits the target — or if you want Bluetooth streaming, which is not here (look at the NAD). But for those who want everything in one chassis, carefully made, it is the most complete amp in the selection.
