CD PLAYERS
Compact discs might not be centre stage now but these players will make the music from your CDS sparkle
Marantz CD6007 £399
It’s a second win this year for the Marantz CD6007, a machine impossible to differentiate from the model it replaced, the three-time Award-winning Marantz CD6006 UK Edition. Happily, the engineers didn’t take things quite as easy as Marantz’s design department. The CD6007 brought a change of DAC chip, to an AKM 4490, allowing the CD6007 to process hi-res PCM files up to 24-bit/192khz and DSD128, though you’ll need to use the front-panel USB Type A socket to get the files into the player.
The CD6007’S build quality is excellent. It feels solid and operates with a slickness that belongs at a far higher price point. The disc mechanism is quiet and responsive, and we can’t think of a rival CD player that feels as polished.
Aside from the front-panel USB, there are single-ended RCAS for the analogue output alongside optical and coaxial for digital. Marantz offers the option of turning the digital outputs off when they’re not in use, which brings a little extra clarity to the sound.
Marantz also now offers a choice of two digital filter options for those who like to tweak. Filter 1 has a slow roll-off and is claimed to offer a deeper stereo image, while Filter 2 has a sharper roll-off, intended to produce a more direct and brighter presentation.
These options have a significant bearing on the sound. Compared with the old CD6006 UK Edition, this Marantz renders a more expansive and betterfocused sound stage. Instruments stay locked in place when the music becomes more demanding. Notes are defined with a touch more precision, particularly at low frequencies.
Larger-scale dynamics are delivered with more verve and punch, and tonally, there is a subtle shift too, with the 6007 sounding more forward and a touch brighter. We can hear leading edges of the bass notes more clearly and there’s a greater feeling of space between instrumental strands. We play a variety of music files through the USB input and the CD6007 copes with hi-res PCM and DSD without issue.
One year on from its first win in this category, the 6007 still does more than enough to stay ahead of the pack. And that’s largely down to Marantz striking the right balance between keeping a winning formula and improving where necessary. We wouldn’t bet against it bagging a hat-trick next year.