Hello all,

I've been looking for a larger mixer than the 4.5 qt KA we have (it's
15-20 yrs old). Finally decided on a Cuisinart SM70 and thought you
might want to know a little about it. It's been used only for one
batch (2 loaves) of bread dough ---very limited experience.

-Has an automatic timer up to 15 minutes. Convenient for kneading the
bread dough.
-1000 watts, at least that's what the nameplate says. A good bit more
power than my 4.5 quart KA.
-A little noisier than the KA but at 3X the power, that's ok.
-Doesn't 'walk' while kneading, the way our KA does.
-The top lifts off to reveal two accessory connections; moderate speed
and high speed (blender, food processor, other?). A third, low-speed
port on the front. I might get the meat grinder attachment later, I
like the idea of home-ground beef and homemade sausage.
-Bowl *holds* a little more than 7 quarts, but the amount it can
actually *mix* is around 5 quarts. Reason: The top of the beater is
down inside the bowl, not slightly above the bowl like the KA. I
don't expect to mix large volumes of material, I mainly wanted
something with more oomph than the 4.5 qt. It did mix two loaves'
worth of bread dough without a hiccup.
-Tall narrow bowl takes up less room in the fridge when chilling the
bowl or its contents. A big plus for our fridge.
-Bowl has handles!! (KA does not, it's hard to remove that bowl after
a kneading session.)
-The paddle and dough hook are anodized aluminum. Better than the 6qt
KA (chrome plated? at least the one I use in the lab is) but not as
good as the 5 qt and 4.5 qt KA (plastic coated). I expect the
anodizing to wear off somewhat with use, while the plastic-coated
paddle of our KA is still good after 15+ years.
-The dough hook is definitely more effective for mixing than the hook
on the 4.5 qt KA.
-Each of the three beaters can be adjusted for optimum height. Depth.
Whatever. On the KA that adjustment is on the mixer head and so is
the same for all three beaters.
-Tilt-head, not bowl-lift. I've used both and prefer the tilt but
that's a personal preference.
-The clear plastic splashguard WORKS, is convenient, and is easy to
clean (one piece).
-About the same price as the 6 quart KA on eBay. (Actually a bit less,
got mine for only $320.)
-Only one color, silver. And here I had my heart set on royal blue.
Ah well.
-Comes with a DVD which I have yet to watch, but is probably much
better than an instruction manual.
-Lifetime? Time will tell.

Overall it seems to have been a worthwhile purchase IMHO.

Hope someone finds this useful -- Terry