One is a streaming all-in-one and the other is an amplifier. Judge them on how many boxes you want and what you already own, not on the spec sheet alone.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | evenly matched | Effectively the same output - 70W against 60W into 8 ohms is under 1dB, which is not an audible difference in loudness. |
| Room size | depends | We rate Marantz PM8006 the better fit for a mid-size room, a large room and a very large room, and Marantz PM7000N for desk or near-field listening and a small room. Match the amplifier to the room you actually have, not the one you want. |
| Grip on hard loads | evenly matched | Both behave much the same into 4 ohms - output increases modestly (100W and 80W). |
| Noise floor | B | Marantz PM7000N is the quieter design on paper - 115dB against 106dB. Audible mainly with sensitive speakers in a quiet room. |
| Built-in DAC | B | Marantz PM7000N has a DAC on board; the other needs an external one, which is another box, another power lead and another purchase. |
| Streaming | B | Only Marantz PM7000N has AirPlay 2, Roon and HEOS. |
| Analogue inputs | A | Marantz PM8006 takes more analogue sources - 5 against 3. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Price | B | Marantz PM7000N costs less - $1,299 against $1,499 at list. |
A Marantz PM8006 B Marantz PM7000N
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 PM7000N is the easier recommendation: it leads on most of the measured areas and costs less. Take Marantz PM8006 if one of the "depends" rows above describes your system. If you already own a DAC or a streamer, the built-in one is money you are paying twice for, and Marantz PM8006 becomes the more rational buy.
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.