Marantz M-CR612 – all-in-one midrange master

MARANTZ is no stranger to many of us in this hobby, or madness, depending on your point of view. Having been in the business for more than 65 years, the company knows a thing or two about making great-sounding, value-for-money hi-fi equipment. With such a long and rich audiophile history under its belt, the brand has managed to stay relevant in the digital age with its wireless music systems.

What we have here is its latest network CD receiver, the M-CR612. Known in some markets as the Melody X, this little system is an all-in-one streaming music system with built in Wi-Fi, amplifier and CD player. Measuring just 11 x 28 x 30 cm (h/w/d) and weighing at 3.4kg, it isn’t heavy to move around and is Ikea-shelf friendly due to its small footprint.

Styled in high-gloss black (also available in silver gold), fit and finish are good, but the entire housing is made of plastic with an acrylic top plate cover. Personally, it feels cheap – a metal housing would have given the whole thing a more premium feel as well as some weight.

The features available in the M-CR612 are region specific, so what is available for the Malaysian market include FM tuner, DAB+, TuneIn Internet radio, AirPlay 2 support, Spotify Connect, Tidal, Deezer and Home Entertainment Operating System (HEOS) Wi-Fi connectivity. For the uninitiated, HEOS is a wireless multi-room audio platform from Denon that is featured on selected wireless powered speakers, receivers/amps, and soundbars from the Denon and Marantz brands.