Clearaudio Ambient Turntable System

Designed for Someone Who Just Wants to Sit Back and Enjoy the Music

Precision is one of the words that comes to mind when describing the Ambient. The inverted bearing is very quiet and the overall design and execution results in a low noise floor. Admittedly, when using the Satisfy Satiné arm, the Ambient combo has a slightly higher level of groove noise than my reference and falls a bit short of the eerie silence and jet-black background of some of the far more expensive table/arm/cartridge combos. However, the Ambient is much closer to the “super analog rigs” than its price warrants, and it is better isolated from extraneous vibrations than most other mass-loaded tables in its class. Consequently, the Ambient doesn’t benefit nearly as much from placement on an airsuspension platform as many others do.

The Ambient system appears to be designed for someone who just wants to sit back and enjoy the music, but if you must tweak, there are a few substitutions that improve its performance. The supplied “Clever Clamp” provides good, but not great, coupling of the record to the platter. You might experiment with other clamps, or if you want to seriously flatten records, you could go for Clearaudio’s “Outer Limit” peripheral stainless steel ring clamp. You might also consider a higher performance tonearm. Make no mistake, the Satisfy Satiné, with its tighter-spec’d bearings, higher-mass counterweight, and wonderful wood armwand is a major step up from the stock Satisfy. But substituting my Graham tonearm reduced groove noise, tightened up the bass, and rendered even more detail and nuance. Admittedly, it didn’t look as good, and it costs a lot more. Fortunately, you can purchase the Ambient table alone or with a higher-performance Clearaudio arm. Finally, consider adding the Clearaudio “VTA-Lifter.” This is more of a convenience than anything, as VTA can be adjusted with the stock system, but is a tedious process. The “VTALifter” has to be the most precise and refined “aftermarket” VTA adjuster there is. It lets you easily dial in the optimal VTA setting for different record thicknesses and quickly return to the sweet spot for each.

The Ambient turntable system proves that great looks do not always limit performance. Its richness and warmth will come as a shock to most of you familiar with the previous Clearaudio “house sound,” but it still maintains the fine detail, clarity, and transient quickness you’d expect. The fine performance of the table and the Concerto cartridge, in particular, made me think it’s about time to upgrade my analog front end, and the Ambient, as well as other “Panzerholz” Clearaudio tables, will definitely be on my short list. TAS