The system is available in black and black/white. The lighting of the front panel can be adapted to personal preferences with the colors white, blue, green, and orange. The M-CR611 not only looks great, but it's also powerful: it plays CD audio, FM, DAB+, and files from the network. During development, the focus was on simple operation.

The connection to the home WLAN network can be established with a single keystroke (Wi-Fi Connect). The improved Bluetooth function with NFC opens up even more connection possibilities. Mobile iOS devices can also be connected via the USB port on the front panel and an additional port on the rear panel. There are also two digital inputs for connecting a television or other digital sources.

Melody Media now supports Spotify Connect and many other functions for digital media and streaming. You can access the archives of the world's most popular online music services with millions of tracks, and you can also play your own music libraries stored on network storage devices (NAS) and computers on the local network. You have access to thousands of free Internet radio stations. Apple AirPlay is also supported. Playback control is possible with the Marantz Hi-Fi Remote app available for Android and iOS.

Another new feature is the A/B speaker configuration. The volumes of the different listening zones can be controlled individually or in parallel. With Melody Media, you can fill not just one room with music, but two. An impressive range of functions in an elegant housing. In addition to ALAC, Melody Media supports playback of high-resolution WAV, FLAC, and AIFF files at 192 kHz / 24 bit, DSD files at 2.8 MHz, and the gapless playback function, meaning playback of albums with seamless transitions.