Marantz PM6007 £479
It’s two wins on the trot now for this Marantz amplifier. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, as the PM6006 UK Edition that it replaced was itself a two-time winner at this price. Regardless of how good a piece of kit is and how many accolades it has won, it seems that Marantz believes there’s always room for improvement.
The company is many steps along the journey towards making the best budget stereo amplifier possible, then. The PM6007 set out to improve upon the 2018-launched Marantz PM6006 UK Edition with a new DAC, complemented by two digital filters that users can choose between when playing from a source connected to either of its two optical or single coaxial inputs.
While the entry-level amplifier still doesn’t have a USB input or Bluetooth, Marantz has added a subwoofer output.
The PM6007’S sonic character is as familiar as its casework: smooth, full-bodied and balanced, with a pleasing spaciousness. Where it pulls away from the PM6006 UK Edition is in its greater clarity, precision and rhythmic punch. Marantz traded some smoothness for a bit more oomph, as well as tightening up the bass. The result is a more spirited presentation, as heard in the dramatic opener of Portishead’s live performance of All Mine, which comes through with more presence and sense of occasion. Move onto Högni’s rhythm-driven Moon Pitcher and the layers of ambient strands are more cohesively entwined.
Textures take on new levels of tangibility, too. The melodic fingerand picking underpinning Matt Berninger’s acoustic-led Last Song is subtler, even if the PM6007’S vocal delivery doesn’t feel as rock-solid as that of its predecessor.
Happily, the phono circuitry maintains the musical cohesion of the line stages, even if it doesn’t quite deliver the same sense of sparkle. There’s no such issue with the 6.3mm headphone output, which mirrors the excellence of the speaker outputs with ease.
The PM6007 once again strengthens Marantz’s 6000 Series’ firm grip on the budget hi-fi market over the past decade.