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

Just conjured an image of my first car... Triumph TR6, small-bumpered euro version with Lucas injection, flared fenders and a set of Minilites. I was 17

 

richardbrand will you be using an inline dryer for the airline, or is moisture/condensation not a concern?

I'm going to send Bostjan a note read what his take is.

I live blocks from the ocean, always keep windows open so curious if this is a necessary concern? 

I'm very close to pulling the trigger.

@tablejockey 

will you be using an inline dryer for the airline

Was not going to.  Moisture condensation may be an issue with bigger pumps that are in a different room and at a different temperature than the table.  The Holbo pump / power supply is reputed to be near silent and is normally within 6 feet of the table and in the same room.  Very little air is actually moved by the Holbo pump!

Do you close enough to the ocean to need, for example, stainless steel guttering?

Where I live, I am more concerned about dust so I may end up with a ventilated box around the pump to minimise airborne dust.

 

Whart, you mentioned null points and antiskate in connection with linear trackers. In LT tonearms, the stylus is constantly at a null points, there is no skating force and no need for antiskate. However nothing is ideal and for some LTs the stylus travels in tiny arcs across the LP, in which case there would be a tiny skate force constantly changing in direction (toward the spindle then toward the outer grooves, back and forth). It would be impossible to correct for that and not worth the trouble.

@lewm 

The problem you are writing about does not apply to the Holbo air bearing LT tonearm. The Holbo tonearm is an air bearing that floats on the air, has no friction and the needle is always exactly in the middle of the groove.