Marantz CD6007

The Marantz CD6007 disappointed me – I am disappointed in the Marantz CD6007. I have admired Marantz audio equipment for decades, starting with my Marantz KI Signature CD player (awesome for its day). I have owned and greatly enjoyed the Marantz CD6005 and PM6004. But I cannot recommend the Marantz CD6007 without strong reservations. Here's why. Three important features have been removed from my new Marantz CD6007.

The most annoying limitation is what you CAN NOT play via the USB connection. The Marantz CD6007 displays 'unsupported' when any of my 3 iPods is attached (see photo). All of my iPods play via my older Marantz CD player and in my car and via USB on my ARCAM and B&W audio gear. But, again, they will not play on my new CD6007. Best I can discover, the Marantz CD6007 is limited to FAT32 formatting, maxing out at 32Gb on the actual USB connected device. Wow that is so far off the pace!

Second disappointment, the CD6007 does not suport gapless USB play back. This becomes annoying when you play an album such as 'Dark Side Of The Moon' which runs one track into another. Via USB the music is broken into tracks with a brief gap between each.

The third disappointing change to the Marantz CD6007 is it no longer displays track names when you play your burnt CDs. However track names do display during USB playback. Go figure. Why cripple functionality that has worked well for years?

After a period of close listening I have revised my review up to 4 stars to better reflect the CD6007's superb musicality. And having found a four gang switched USB dongle that allows me to play 128Gb of HD FLAC files (via four 32GB USBs) I'm no longer missing that much in the way of USB connectivity. Still, I'm curious why Marantz would remove functionality already available in earlier models.

So, if you ONLY want a very good CD player, consider the Marantz. But if you ALSO want serious USB connectivity consider a different brand, not the Marantz CD6007.