Different price classes - Marantz Model 40n costs roughly 2.5x what Marantz MCR 60n does. Expect it to lead on paper; the question is whether you will hear the difference through the speakers you own.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Noise floor | B | Marantz Model 40n is the quieter design on paper - 106dB against 90dB. Audible mainly with sensitive speakers in a quiet room. |
| Built-in DAC | A | Both decode on board, but only Marantz MCR 60n handles DSD. |
| Streaming | evenly matched | The same streaming platforms and services on both. |
| Analogue inputs | B | Marantz Model 40n takes more analogue sources - 3 against 1. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Built-in sources | depends | Marantz MCR 60n has a CD player built in. That is one less box if you still play discs or listen to radio, and dead weight if you do not. |
| Shelf space | depends | Marantz MCR 60n takes up about 60% less shelf area (845cm² against 2126cm²), and it is 179mm shallower, which is the measurement that decides whether a rack door shuts. |
| Price | A | Marantz MCR 60n costs less - $1,000 against $2,499 at list. |
A Marantz MCR 60n B Marantz Model 40n
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both amplifiers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Marantz Model 40n is ahead, but on only 1 of the measured areas, and it costs about 150% more. That is a lot of money for a narrow margin - Marantz MCR 60n is the sensible buy unless a specific feature above decides it for you. Think about the whole system: the roughly $1,499 saved by taking the cheaper one would buy better speakers or a subwoofer, which does more for the sound than the difference between two competent amplifiers.
What a spec sheet cannot show: how either sounds with your speakers, how the controls feel day to day, and what the app is like to live with - which is where most all-in-one amplifiers are actually won or lost. Power figures are the manufacturers' own and are not measured to a common standard, so treat small differences as noise. If you can hear both, that will tell you more than any row above.