Anybody else have/had a CM Laboratories Amp?

Cichocki

Cichocki

Member
I picked up this amp off "ye olde auctione site" a while back. It's a CM Laboratories Model 35D. It was described as having a "warm, McIntosh-like sound," although I nabbed it as more of an oddity than anything else. It does have a number of similarities to McIntosh, however. The "Laboratories" in the name, the exposed silver GE caps (4x1800uF in this case), made in the NE (in Connecticut), very heavy, solidly built. Interestingly the output barrier strips don't have separate impedance ratings, rather the power switch functions in two modes: one for 4-8 ohm loads, the other for 8-16. The heat sinks and transistors are under the blue mesh screen. And it has a bigass transformer, which makes up the vast majority of the weight of this thing.

Anyway, it arrived a couple days ago. It apparently had some decent minor repair work in the past, and was modified with gold RCAs and a toggle switch on the front that has no apparent function. All I had to do was some solder work on broken wires for the speaker connection ground inside the amp, and now she's up and running.

As I said before, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. But, uh, this thing sounds good....REALLY good. It's currently powering my S8R Olympus JBLs, and the 35 watts are more than enough to shake the walls. As much as it pains me to say this, as a developing McDevotee, I think ol' Blue here sounds better than the MC2120 I had driving the JBLs. (Granted the Mc wasn't getting even remotely close to its power capabilities with the efficient horns, but still.) The CM has an awesome warmth, and really nice, tight, full bass response. I'm playing some Nick Drake right now, and it sounds phenomenal. :yes:

So has anyone else had a CM experience? My attempts to find any other info on the amp, or the company have been fruitless. :dunno:

-Brian

 
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D*MN YOU!!!!!!! I keep looking and never see them and somehow missed it. YOU DON'T DESERVE IT! SEND IT TO ME!! If ya haven't figured it out yet, I LIKE this amp. Little known and seldom seen. The 35D is built BETTER than a McIntosh. Yes, I just said that. And for power - 35 watts, yeah. If you can not estimate the size, think about the size of a Marantz 8b or McIntosh MC250 and HEAVY. At the time these came out there was NOTHING to match it and I'll wager my kid that there has been NO 35 to 50 watter near its quality of construction or sound since. The MC250 is as close as anything could come. This is not a nice grab but and EXCELLENT grab and I do even care what the price was. Last time I heard 1 was a friend who ran across 1 after we had spoken about it some months earlier. I offered him $300 and my McIntosh MC250 and that was something like 20 years ago.

They made a preamp about the same time that looks less than steller but was very decent when compared to the com at the time. CM Labs went on to produce the Bozak electronics including the mid 70s preamps and amp that today is RARE and if you see these also grab them up.

The company is still in existence and maintains a website. It produces primarily studio equipment that has always been its core product. An example of it is the Bozak mixer, again their product. UREI, I understand copied it after Bozak went out. They are still based out of Ct.
 
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This CM Labs amp was a very early design. I was wondering if it was germanium or silicon based...
 
Brian said:
D*MN YOU!!!!!!! I keep looking and never see them and somehow missed it. YOU DON'T DESERVE IT! SEND IT TO ME!!
Click to expand...

Ha! This thing is quickly becoming addicting. Awesome sound. So I take it this was $125 well spent? There was another one on the 'bay that ended two days after this one that was in much rougher shape. I bid up to $80 on that one (I think) but someone had already put in higher bid. Having just won this one I let it go.

I have an MC250 that I picked up at an estate sale a while back for $40, but have yet to listen to it since I want to bring it up on a variac. As such I can't comment on a comparison 'tween the two, not to mention that the 250 is at home in Texas and the CM is here at school in Miami.

And, Brian, since you seem to be a man after my own heart, and since we share the same name, you'll be the first to know if I, by some chance, ever decide to sell it. :D

-Brian
 
Oh, the stab wound and now you twist the blade by digging it in as to the sound and to top it off you thrust it deeper with a price of $125 and thet strike again with another that I missed. I'll never recover from wounds you have inflicted upon my gentle body. But alas, you then rub salt into the wound by mentioning you bought a MC250 for $40.

Ya better keep me in mind it you decide to unload it. What school are you attending and major? I graduated from Stetson University College of Law in Tampa and had my CPA and Law practices on the west coast - Cape Coral/Ft.Myers area before retiring to Toronto. Yes, I always do things in reverse. Go south to work; go north to retire.
 
nice grab Cichocki ,
ive seen that amp on ebay and was intriqued by it also as ive seen some ads and reviews of it in some of my older high fidelity magazines. i decided not to bid on it though as ive got too much on my plate as it is.i'll take a look and see if i can find a review of it and if i can i'll post it.

brian,
i havnt seen you get this worked up over a piece of gear since you discovered the philips hi-fi labs series :D .guess i'll have to watch ebay more closely now to see what the hype is about :D
 
In all honesty, when this thing came out the only reason it did not knock off the shelves everything else out there was the company was not big and did not have either large production capacity or distribution. Most of their production was for other companies and marketed under other names such as Bozak.

These were not off the shelf amps, you put the order in and waited. The 35 was a Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Packard all in 1 package. Am I passionate for this amp - YES! I never mated them but this amp with say an ARC SP3A-1 or a Marantz 7C (or even a T). When I had 1, I had it mated with an other elusive animal a Mattes preamp and the sound was just a killer compared to the at that time standard in my inventory; a Marantz 7T and 15. Can not remember why I sold them, senior year of high school, probably in need of senior prom money. Should have kept the units. Would have been more satisfying then the relationship with the girlfriend. For the past few years when I'd think of it I'd do an eBay lookup. A few Mattes integrated amps showed up but there was a crazy there who wanted to corner the market. Have seen a couple of the 35Ds but each had a buy it now and I found them after the new owner went through the check out counter.

BTW, I've been running my "new" Wharfedales with the 2105/28 and 77 for the past week. A couple of nights ago the 28's left channel dropped a few db and started to distort so I pulled it out and subbed the Philips. Soundstage dropped like a rock but the music using it in combo with the 2105 is nothing short of amazing. I'll play around with the speaker placement a bit to see if I can get the soundstage to open up. The 2105 doesn't lose any of its magic what so ever. The bass with the 2105/28 was really nice but coupled with the Philips it almost seems it picked up an octave. If the last time you saw me excited was the Philips, then your were lucky to miss my discovery of the Sony STR-6060FWs. I ended up with 3, a 4th and 5th were negotiated but the owners who at first represented them as 100% working sort of forgot about the fact they are MPX tuners so the deals did not go through. 2 of the 3 also have dead MPX units and a 6th I saw last weekend also has a dead MPX. The 1 working unit has been on my Symphonys since about the start of tax season and the Mc was sidelined with no urge to pull the Sony. Even the Philips never made me do that.
 
Brian,

I go to school at the University of Miami, and I am a Biology major. This is my senior year, and I just finished applying to a number of veterinary medical schools. Wherever I end up going, it's going to be cold. :thumbsdn: No more tropical environment for me.

After listening to this amp even more, and reading your passionate comments, I'm really wondering why this thing isn't more well-known, low production figures or otherwise. Also, I'm running it with a C29 pre, which seems to be a nice match.

Here's a picture of the MC250. It literally looks like brand-new. I couldn't find a blemish on it, even after going over it with a fine-tooth comb. Did I also forget to mention I got a totally mint, complete JBL S7R component set at the same estate for $150? :D That was a very good day. My only complaint was that there was all the paperwork present for an MX-114, but the unit itself wasn't there. I know nobody else bought it since I found all the stuff in a cabinet that the people didn't know about. Must have vanished in the distant past.



-Brian
 
I was just reading an old stereo magazine with an ad for CM that actually gave the guys name -- Charles Martin or something. Their equipment was highly regarded, but all the posters are correct -- not widely available, so not well known. As also noted, they did the Bozak electronics, which are also not well known. I had a Bozak CM 150 ((?)don't remember the exact model number). It was a bit grainy, but had the best low end I've ever heard. On a pair of Vandersteen 2e or is, it was instantly and unequivocally obvious whether drumsets had been recorded on a wood floor or a concrete floor. I've never heard that level of room information before or after. But it didn't always turn on -- capacitors the size of 16 oz beer cans, and and old house with too small wiring -- so I returned it. My long suffering wife absolutely hated the look of the Vandersteens, so they left soon after also.
I have been looking for CM electronics since I first picked up a HiFidelity Yearbook back in 1974.
 
Man, you can really turn the screws. I'm not a JBL lover but know enough to realize you can be tried by JBL followers for grand theft speaker. That 250 is beaturiful. Mine has not weather the years as well having been used in system, on the road for comparisons, and as a loaner to manufactuers. It is shortly going in for a new set of speaker terminal strips and changeout of the input jacks and a complete extreme makeover to bring it back to as good or better speck. I am not 1 for keeping things totally original so the speaker terminals will probably be changed out for a set of 5-way binding posts for the 4 and 8 ohm taps. There is enough space to do this without having to cut the chassis. Will also most likely take out the octal wiring and the stereo/mono switch. The socket and switch will stay but the wiring removed. If for some reason at a later date there is a need the wiring can be reinstalled. Have been thinking about whether to bypass the level controls also. I do used them very infrequently.

Vet school - good choice. There is an interesting BBC serial we get on PBS (New York station)here about Vets living in the U.K, countryside before and after WWII. It is called All Animals Big and Small and is based on the works of a James Herriot and appears to be an autlbiography. If I ever thought about your vocation after seeing these guys having to work with bulls, sheep, cows, pigs and other animals I'd quickly change my long term goals. I am a city slicker and never thought about this part of the trade. They make house calls 24/7. I used to make jokes about Vets but after seeing these shows I steer clear of jokes about lawyers (since I practiced) and Vets. But for you and since you have been so lucky, may you be accepted at the U of Nunivit and may your first patients be a Penguin and Polar bear.

Nat, could you scan the ad and upload or email it? The CM Lab produced later home audio amps were the 929 ($850), 939 ($580)and 949 @ 150, 65 and 65 watts respectively. Ive seen the 929 and 969 but outside of seeing it listed never anything on the integrated 949. During the same period C/M Labs had the CM912A ($800) and CM914 ($400) amps. Neither company was targeting the average buyer. Bozaks' CM made preamps were the 909 ($450) and 919 ($800) while the C/M Labs was the CM300 ($450). For comparison during the same time a ARC SP3A-1 was the same price as the 919, the H-K 11 was $400. About a year ago I came across a CM300 that had been through at least 3 wars and then at ground zero for an nuclear test. I am talking totally physically a wrech. I did work. The seller knew that there was a history between C/M and Bozak and that C/M branded equip was scarce and wanted $1,000 for it. I passed. I went past his stall a few weeks later it was gone. He maintains he got what he wanted for it. He is a hard negotiator but also sells a lot of stuff to the overseas market so I suspect it may have gone offshore. The 35D predates these units by almost 10 years. The 150 if memory serves me is a correct # and the amp was a stereo rack mountable from its sound reinforcement product line.

I would like to get a Bozak set to complement the Bozak Symphonys but these are not much more plentiful than the C/M products.
 
On another side of CM lab

I still have my first DJ mixer. CM LABS 620. got in in I believe 1978. CM LABS made quality equipment at the time this mixer was the best I could get then and it had a price. I was told the company was small but products were more like hand crafted. the mixer was a professional mixer mainly used in night clubs. CM LABS might not be the same as CM laboratories as I have been trying to locate a schematic for my mixer to get the EQ section fixed. BUT yes I am a CM LABS owner also. the only mixer I could find to match up to it and maybe a little better is a RANE MP24Z so that will tell you a little about the quality of CM LABS. I will find someone who can fix it one day. IT's a keeper. :thmbsp:
 
Got the name of the founder wrong -- its Carol Michel. Don't know if male or female, though one suspects that if female, would have been noted as one of the earliest females in audio.
I have been trying to figure how to get things scanned, and will try to post.
 
I've got one of C/M amps out in the garage. I bought it for the chassis to use in a project but couldn't bring myself to gut it. It works but has low output with distortion. Please let me know if you ever score a schematic. Lee
 
CM Labs 915

I wanted to post a picture of the 915 that I have. Can't figure out how to post a picture of it ! Any advice? I still need a picture of the 35D from th eunderside, I think Mine's missing a big honkin resistor, can't be sure without a picture or a schemo , any volunteers? Thanks, Ed
 
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