The Rising is a beautiful box to look at with is large 8" white woofers, clean features, and chrome accents. I especially like the blue L.E.D. feature that stays on all the time to light up the radio stations. I was also impressed by the quality look and feel of the Risings controls. The M70 reaks of quality, just pick it up and the weight and solid chassis tell the story of what lies inside. The M70 even outweighs the larger Rising by 1 pound. When using the tuner function the M70 tunes in stations quite easily projecting loud and clear with very little hiss. Surprisingly the Rising was stronger in this area tuning into stations much stronger with a much brighter sound. When using the cassette and line in function I played a list of songs from Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, Shania Twain, and the classic rock hit "One" by Metallica. I judged the units on bass, midrange, and treble reproduction as well as overall clarity and volume. The Rising's power comes on slow, smooth and deliberate almost in an attempt not to overwork those big woofers. It delivers sound in the same fashion not overpowering you in any way but with smooth solid bass, mids and, highs. The Rising performs best when the loudness is used at 50% volume or less, above that I turned it off for best results. The M70 delivers power strong and hard from start to finish. It's crisp highs, hard and punchy bass, and mids scream out loud and clear, were too much for the larger Rising. Overall volume and clarity are the M70's strength drowning out the Rising without too much effort. The smooth delivery and overall performance of the Rising make it an excellent unit. The M70 just does it better, stronger, and louder.
