Does any Audiogon member have a Holbo air-bearing turntable?


I am fascinated by the Holbo air-bearing turntable with its linear tracking air-bearing arm and air bearing platter system.  I have not read an unfavourable review, and many reviewers recommend it as a reference-level turntable at an audio bargain price.

If you have one, what has your experience been like?  What country are you in?  Is yours the Mk1 or the Mk2?  What was the set-up experience like?  What cartridge(s) have you used, and what would you recommend?  How do you keep it clean?  Has it been reliable?

Looking forward to hearing real-life experiences!

richardbrand

Our government-owned Australia Post even stopped shipping to the US for a while.  We all know who to blame!

Yeah, Anthony Albanese!

just kidding just kidding

@lewm 

Your story is bringing The Graduate to the forefront of my mind.  Must get the 4K version now it is out!  Beautiful red Alfa spider.

At the time the film was released, my motor was a 1935 Model Y Ford.  The only car to ever sell new in the UK for less than a hundred quid.  Unequalised mechanical brakes, so you got one wheel braking if you were lucky.

I bought it for 10 quid from the college chaplain when I was a student at Cambridge.  There was an embargo on students having a car within 25 miles radius of St Mary’s Church and mine was parked in plain sight on the College Forecourt for a whole term ...

@richardbrand Congrats Richard! Hoping the Holbo will bring you great joy! You can always upgrade your cartridge later. I used mine with a “lowly” Nagaoka MP-110 for quite some time, and really, getting the foundation right with the table upfront is best anyway. Then the cartridge. Enjoy and keep us posted! 

@whart 

I never had an issue dealing with Kuzma in Slovenia. In fact, back in the day, I'd get overnight shipments from there to NY

I've just got back to Sydney from an Expo in Melbourne.  A guy I know needed an urgent shipment from Vienna, about 4-1/2 hours drive distance from Holbo in Slovenia.  The flight itself took almost two days.

He got a nasty surprise on the price of air transport, which was about double what the sender had quoted.  About A$160,000.  Oh, the shipment was a special build Mercedes, modified in Italy, and needed for the Expo!

No such issue with Bostjan Holc of Holbo who offers an all-inclusive fixed price including all taxes, duties, insurance and shipping.

Yeah, I haven't had many international shipments since the tariffs kicked in here in the US. But Slovenia to AUS doesn't implicate US tariffs. I know AUS was always expensive for exotic automobiles b/c I was shocked at the prices, and this was back in the day. (FWIW, I tried to buy a Brough motorcycle in AUS but could not get it vetted by someone who knew the bikes so I passed). Good luck with the table - it sounds like an ideal set up at a reasonable price.