Clearaudio Ambient User manual

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Hi-Fi Components clearaudio electronic GmbH
Spardorfer Str. 150 ●D-91054 Erlangen ●Tel. [phone] ●FAX [phone]
www.clearaudio.de ●www.analogshop.de ●[email protected] ●copyright clearaudio2008
User manual
Ambient
Ambient - Black Piano Laquer
Version 1.2._08-04-11_E
Made in Germany

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Dear clearaudio-customer,
you have purchased a state-of-the-art turntable, the
Ambient , a world class product of
clearaudio electronic GmbH.
The special resonance-optimised construction, the external motor-unit and the patented
clearaudio - CMB-bearing-technology guarantees absolute speed stability, pure pleasure in
listening and reproduction in accordance to the original.
Thank you very much your confidence.
Please read this guide carefully so that you can enjoy all advantages of your
Ambient -turntable. All information given will help to generate best set up and avoid any possible
damages.
We hope you will enjoy your new clearaudio
Ambient -turntable.
clearaudio electronic GmbH
Please read the warnings before connecting your
Ambient -turntable to the mains supply.
CE-MARKING
The clearaudio
Ambient meets the regulations concerning electromagnetic disturbance
(EMC) and low-voltage appliances.
COPYRIGHT
Recording und reproduction of any sound-material may require the consent of the creator.
Please acknowledge the information given in the
- Copyright Act 1956,
- Dramatic and Musical Performers Act 1958,
- Performers Protection Acts 1963 and 1072,
- any more recent legal regulations.
WARNINGS
Don’t expose your performance-turntable to rain or humidity.
Don’t handle the mains leads with wet hands.
Don’t place or insert anything into the equipment or through ventilation holes.
No naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the equipment.

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Contents
1. Packaging overview 4
2. Packing contents 5
3. Set-up and operation 7
4. Tonearm mounting 12
5. Special information 20
6. Service 20
7. Technical data 21
Warrantyinformation 22

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1. Packaging Overview
1. floor:
Turntablechassis
2. floor:
Motorunit
Power supply unit
Platter incl. Upper part of bearing
3. floor
Optional, if the Ambient
is ordered in a package:
A: Unify tonearm
B: Satisfy tonearm
(according your order)
cartridge, accessories
A
B

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2. Package contents
The clearaudio Ambient turntable is delivered in a special packaging to ensure its safe
transport. Please check the contents as per list below:
1 Motorunit with included
„mini Syncro“ unit 2
Chassisplate 70-layers wood
sandwich, silver anodised aluminum
top & bottom plate
3 Tonearmbase (preassambled) 4
High-precision turntable platter made
of solid silicon acrylic with patented
CMB bearing
5 Pulley made of acrylic including
fixing screws 6 Power supply unit(incl. 3 different plug
units; EU, USA and GB)
6
4
1 2 3
5

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7 Optional tonearm: (A-Unify/B-Satisfy)
incl. accessory 8 Groundingcable for the bearingscrew
9 Clearaudio Clever Clamp 10 Shynthetic bearing oil (2.5 ml)
11 Screwdriver (for fixing the pulley) 12 levelgauge
13 Silent Belt Ø 1mm (2 x,
therefrom 1 x spare) 14 Pair of white gloves
15 hexkeywrench 16 Warranty card (not shown)
7/A
8
11910 12
13
14
15
7/B

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3. Set-up and operation
After you have checked the package contents as described in section 2, lay the parts out on a
clean, safe flat surface for the clearaudio
Ambient assembly. Assembly is fairly simple and
straight forward as many parts have been preassembled at the factory. Please use the white
gloves provided to prevent scratches and/or fingerprints during assembly. The smallest placing
area for your clearaudio
Ambient is 530 x 330 mm.
33 cm
53,5 cm
11 cm 40 cm
Pic. 1: Placing area Ambient turntable

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Place the premounted chassisplate on a good turntable rack area optimised for low sensitivity of
acoustical feedback.
Unpack the turntable platter with the upper part of the platter bearing. Remove the protective
security tape from the bearing housing and place this unit carefully over the spindle mounted in
the turntable chassis. Do not use too much pressure for this step otherwise you will
cause damage to the bearing. Caution: pay attention not to place any of the grease
on the acrylic surface of the chassis!
Due to the high precision machining there could be left some air inside the bearing. The air will
flow out after several turns of the platter. Please make sure that the two markings on the
turntable platter and on the bearing are in one line (as shown in figure below). The correct
position of these markings is very important, because they had been calibrated at the factory.
Pic. 2: Placing the Ambient turntable
Pic. 3: Placing the turntable platter
Pic. 4: Correct position of turntable platter and bearing

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Place the pulley on the motor spindle. The distance between the pulley and the motor housing
should be approx. 3 mm. Tighten the three little screws inside the pulley with the aluminium
screwdriver provided.
Place now the motorunit beside your Ambient turntable. The distance between the motorunit and
the turntable should be 2 - 2,5 cm!
3 mm
Pic. 5: Placing the pulley on the motor spindle
Pic. 6: Distance between motor unit and Ambient turntable
2 – 2.5 cm

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Place the belt on the pulley of the motor unit. Please turn with your hand the platter some turns,
that the belt is parallel.
The following adjustment is very important:
Should the air bubble in the level gauge not be in the black circle (see at the blow up), please
ensure then that your underground so will be according aligned. Only if the turntable will be
aligned you will receive the optimum on sound.
Pic. 7: Placing the belt on the pulley
Pic. 8: To align the turntable

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Connect now the power supply unit with the motorunit. After starting the motor unit, can you
exact calibrate the turning speed with the included screwdriver
(shown in the pictures below)!
Calibration for 33 1/3 rpm.
Exactly 33 1/3 rpm shows the
display 33.3! (left LED is
glowing at 33 1/3)
Calibration for 45 rpm.
Exactly 45 rpm shows the
display 45.0! (right LED is
g
lowin
g
at 45
)
Start
33 1/3
45
Pic. 9: Calibrating the turning speed

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4 Tonearm mounting
4.1 Unify mounting
To mount the tonearm base to the Ambient armboard, please use the screws without
nuts (M4x20) and place it like the red marked screws.
Carefully remove the security zip tie and unwrap the arm tube. Caution: Once the
security zip tie is removed not to inadvertently pull it out of the armwand.
Place the arm tube on to the pivot point and lock it into it´s arm rest. Use the cable
strain relief screw (M4x10) and washer (red marked screw in the picture below) to
secure the cable to the tonearm base.
Insure that the distance from the spindle to the pivot point of the tonearm is exactly 222
mm. Moving the armboard in one direction or another will allow you to locate the correct
position. Once located, tighten the armboard down. Shown in the picture below. You can
also use the optional clearaudio cartridge alignment gauge.
Pic. 10: Mounting the tonearm base
Pic. 11: Mounting the tonearm

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For the exact adjustemts should be the cartridge mounted! Please follow
therefor the instructions of the cartridge user manual!
Pic. 12: Mounting the tonearm

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Attach the clearaudio Turbo Weight on the end of the tonearm (1). Set tracking force
using the clearaudio Exact stylus preassure gauge (see cartridge instructions for
recommended tracking force renge). Adjusting tracking force is accomplished by moving
the weight towards or away from the pivot point on the shaft (to 1). Note: When
tightening the counter-weight, insure that the weight is perfectly vertical otherwise this
may affect your cartridges azimuth settings.
Feed the anti-skate weight through the anti-skate support wand and secure it to the
threaded shaft at the top of the tonearm bell (to 3). Note:
Attaching the string to the
position closes to the pivot point is equal to approx 0.5 gramms of anti-skate. Each
additional 1/8” out on the shaft will give you another 0.5 gramms of anti-skate force with
a maximum of 3.0 gramms if affixed to the end of the shaft. (green arrow = lesser
antiskating / red arrow = more antiskating).
2
3
to 1
to 3
to 2
1
Pic. 13: Mounting the tonearm

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VTA adjustments are accomplished by loosening the two lock screws an the side of the
armboard base (shown in picture 1 and 2). Once loose, you can moove the arm up or
down to achieve the desired VTA. Tighten both screws when finished. Re-check tracking
force after adjusting VTA.
Azimuth adjustments are facilitated through the small (1,5 mm) Allen screw (red marked
screw) on the bottom side of the armwand where the headshell enters the carbon fiber.
Once you loosen this screw, you´ll be able to rotate the headshell a small amount in
either direction. Be sure to tighten the screw when done.
1 2
Pic. 14: VTA-adjustment
Pic. 15: Azimuth adjustment

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4.2 Satisfy mounting
To mount the tonearm base to the Ambient armboard please use the screws without
nuts (M4x20) and place it like the red marked screws.
Please put careful the cables and the tonearm through the armboard, pay attention that
no wire will be damaged! Now fix the tonearm with the 2 screws ont the right and the
left side, not to much, so that you can adjust it in the next steps!
Pic. 16: Mounting the tonearm base for Satisfy
Pic. 17: Mounting the clearaudio Satisfy tonearm

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Insure that the distance from the spindle to the pivot point of the tonearm is exactly 222
mm. Moving the armboard in one direction or another will allow you to locate the correct
position. Once located, tighten the armboard down. Shown in the picture below. You can
also use the optional clearaudio cartridge alignment gauge.
For the exact adjustemts should be the cartridge mounted!
VTA adjustments are accomplished by loosening the two lock screws an the side of the
armboard base (shown in picture 1 and 2). Once loose, you can moove the arm up or
down to achieve the desired VTA. Tighten both screws when finished. Re-check tracking
force after adjusting VTA.
1 2
Pic. 18: Mounting the clearaudio Satisfy tonearm
Pic. 19: VTA adjustment

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Azimuth adjustments are facilitated through the small (1,5 mm) Allen screw (red marked
screw) on the bottom side of the armwand where the headshell enters the carbon fiber.
Once you loosen this screw, you´ll be able to rotate the headshell a small amount in
either direction. Be sure to tighten the screw when done.
Wind the counterweight on the tonearm-tube. You can adjust the tracking force of your
cartridge by turning the counterweight (shown in the picture below) (green arrow =
more tracking force / red arrow = lesser tracking force).
Pic. 20: Azimuth adjustment
Pic. 21: Adjustment of the tracking force

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Now you are ready for the antiskating adjustment. This also depends on the tracking
force of the cartridge and the diamond shape.
Illustration 1 Illustration 2 Illustration 3
(minimal Antiskating) (medium Antiskating) (maximum Antiskating)
The general set-up is now finished.
Connect your Satisfy -tonearm now with the phono input of your phono-preamplifier.
(More information on adequate phono-preamplifiers and interconnects you can find on
our Website www.clearaudio.com).
You can now place a record on the platter, affix it with the
enclosed clever-clamp and finish your cartridge adjustments.
Now you are finally ready to play your vinyl records.
We wish you a lot of pleasure with your new Ambient -turntable.
alignment of the antiskating tracking force position of the antiskating-screw
minimal antiskating →10 – 15mN →see illustration 1
medium antiskating →15 – 20mN →see illustration 2
maximum antiskating →20mN and more →see illustration 3
Pic. 21: Alignment of the antiskating

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5. Special information
To achieve the full clearaudio warranty, it is necessary that you fill out and send the
corresponding part of the warranty registration card back to clearaudio, within two weeks after
purchase. Only if the product is returned in it’s original packing clearaudio can provide the
warranty.
Transportation advice: If any transportation of the
Ambient -turntable should be necessary,
please always remove the turntable platter. Otherwise serious damage can occur!
The bearing hole needs to be covered as well, to avoid any dust coming into the bearing. Always
take of the pulley of the motor unit as well, to prevent the motor shaft from any damages.
If the
Ambient -turntable is a longer time not in use, please disconnect the motor from the mains
supply.
Every two years you can lubricate (only if you will recognize speed variations) the bearing of the
turntable platter with the delivered oil. In this case it is enough to put 4 or 5 drops of the oil into
bearing.
Please take special caution to any damages of the power cord. Any damages should only be
repaired only by authorized personal. A damaged power cord must be exchanged immediately!
6. Service
If any service or repair on all clearaudio products is necessary, please contact your dealer /
distributor or contact clearaudio directly. We will inform you about your nearest service location.
PLEASE RETAIN ALL ORIGINAL PACKAGING. You will need it if this unit has to be transported
and/or shipped. Any further questions you may have about this turntable should be directed to
the distributor or directly to clearaudio at
clearaudio electronic GmbH
Spardorfer Str 150
91054 Erlangen
Germany
Tel/Phone: [phone]
www.clearaudio.de
www.analogshop.de
[email protected]