Clearaudio Turntables

I auditioned and almost bought the Ambient a number of years ago.  It is a beautiful table but was over my budget at the time.  I currently own the Ovation which I purchased about 5 years ago.  A wonderful table as well.  Its been quite a while since listening to the Ambient so your testing my memory a bit.  However I think you'll find that the tables with the same arms will sound very similar, with the Ovation probably having a little better bass and possibly being a little bit more dynamic.  The biggest difference will be which arm you use.  With either table I'd highly recommend upgrading the arm.  I use the Universal on my Ovation which was a big step up in overall SQ.

Definitely stay away from the magnetic arm that came bundled with the Ovation until recently. I believe they've dumped that and now bundle the new "Tracer" arm with rigid bearings, which I'd expect to be a big improvement. The upgrade to a Universal 9" is also an excellent option, depending on cartridge (should be good with most MC's, but is not good for a Koetsu stone body). 

I auditioned an Ovation some years ago in my system and it is very nice! The Ortofon Cadenza series makes a good match for the table.

+1 on staying away from the magnetic bearing arms. I had both the Clarify and Magnify and they were problematic, causing excessive woofer pumping. No means of turntable isolation would resolve it. I finally upgraded to the Universal tonearm and it’s the game changer. Bass is incredibly stable and all volume levels. I love my Ovation. It’s a great table and sounds fantastic. I would choose the Tracer or Universal arm for it.

I use a Dynavector DRT XV-1s cartridges with mine. It's an excellent match.

Thanks everyone.

I appreciate your responses and you have all been very helpful.