Marantz M-CR612 Network CD Receiver | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 & HEOS Connectivity | AM/FM Tuner, CD Player, Unlimited Music Streaming | Compatible with Amazon Alexa | Black

I needed a receiver for a bookshelf speaker setup and a lot of research led me here. I couldn’t be happier. It is driving a pair of Klipsch Reference Premier bookshelf speakers, and I did bi-amp them. Also used a small subwoofer. This was just what I was looking for - Bluetooth, AirPlay, CD Player, receiver, and amp all in one small package from a high end brand.

Works as expected. Has decent power and a lot of features. Small footprint was critical for me and not a lot of options out there - this one did not disappoint

I really like this unit as it does a lot (a lot!) of things really well, but the sound quality of the power amplification stage is very poor. I tried it with several good quality speakers but the sound is not good, especially at medium-to-higher volumes. However it has a plethora of sources like CD, tuner, network streaming and I had quite a good time using it as a preamp to my tube power amplifier driving the actual speakers. It has a preamp output so that was perfect! The built-in DAC is quite mediocre but that is to be expected at this price point. I think it is a great unit for a teenager's room, den, office or other area where you want a lot of flexibility with regards to sound sources and not play at higher volumes.

I ordered this unit mainly because it came with a built-in CD player. I was thus understandably disappointed, after opening the box and unpacking this receiver, to see that the CD player did not work. The tray would open, it would accept and read a CD, give a read-out of the number of tracks and total duration, but then would not play past 3 or 4 seconds. It would act like it was getting ready to play, but just froze up and returned to the read-out you would expect to see after the CD had finished playing. Nothing at all is mentioned in the instructions regarding the operation of the CD player. I also noticed, as others have observed, that the initial set-up is exceedingly tedious in many respects. It would be nice if they gave you the option to set up blue tooth, wi-fi, Heos, etc., as a separate option, rather than having it be the very first thing that pops up when you first power up the unit. Some of us just want to play music the old fashioned way. Having read the other reviews, I was too petrified to even try the software update. My bottom line: when you are a top flight name brand like Marantz, you need to invest a lot more time and attention to quality control.

When I first bought this and was using DENON wireless speakers the unit kept freezing. To use Denon's wireless speakers you must use a phone app(lication).After I connected wired speakers I have had no problem. I have sound from the wired speakers and the wireless speakers. The unit has not frozen. I suspect the HEOS software on the phone was trying to access wired speakers which weren't there, so the unit froze.The Marantz unit is superb!

FIRST thing you need to know is that the plethora of buttons on the remote are almost useless except for the ON/OFF and volume. The rest of the buttons are an unreliable way to access the CR612.SECOND is that the buttons on the FRONT panel are superfluous in that all of these (except the CD drawer open/close) are duplicated on the HEOS app. HEOS stands for Home Entertainment Operating System.THIRD is that you really must have the HEOS app on your smart phone to access "all" of the M-CR612 features. HEOS on the phone is the only reliable way to access Internet RADIO. Without HEOS (free App and registration) the unit is just a AM/FM radio and CD player.NOTE: If you disconnect the power (like during a thunderstorm) the internal memory is dumped and your HEOS registration info is dumped. But, you can reload registration in about 40 frustrating minutes or continue only with the HEOS app on your smartphone.SOUND is good at high volumes, but seems to vary quite a bit when tuned to one of the "TUNEIN" radio stations. CD performance is very good. FM radio seems sensitive enough. My AM radio is just static no matter what I do regarding an AM antenna connection.Because of the frustration with SETUP and operation w/o a smartphone handy, I would NOT recommend this to a friend unless they are OK with the challenges basic operation presents.

The M-CR612 has terrific sound. I was amazed at the dramatic sound improvement (even though I am using the same speakers). Setup was quick and simple, and the unit is very easy to use. Using HEOS with Amazon music HD sounds great, but the HEOS app is very slow and not nearly as enjoyable as using the Amazon HD app directly. Hopefully this will be better integrated in the future. Overall, I am extremely pleased.

5 Stars. I'm very happy with this receiver and the Heos app. I haven't had any connectivity issues streaming like i did with another brand receiver. I love that I can also control the receiver through Alexa. This is my second Marantz receiver, My first lasted 25 years.