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

@pal_gunnestad 

Are you enjoying your turntable?

It has revolutionised (pun intended) my listening.  As a platform, it does everything I could ask from a turntable / arm combination. So much so, it set me off on a path to find a cartridge worthy of it, landing on a DS Audio optical cartridge.  This in turn led to a new phono stage from SoulNote that handles MM, MC and optical cartridges.  The full saga to date is here Audiogon Discussion Forum. So the extras more than doubled my original Holbo investment.

Can you tell me about your involvement with Holbo?  I think I can count the number of owners here on the fingers of one hand, with some fingers left over!

I don't have any cleaning tips for the arm bearing shaft, which I believe is machined to an accuracy of 10-microns.  It seems to be important to reduce dust, and my Holbo came with a square, white, micro-fibre cloth which can be laid over the exposed shaft when not in use (I often forget).  I do not have a dust cover, but I cover the whole unit with a black velveteen cloth.  I can't imagine doing that with the delicate SME 3009 tonearm on my Garrard 301 deck.

Overall, I am getting sounds from records (mainly classical) that I would never have believed possible.

I can check for possible stiction between the arm and the shaft by reducing the tracking force to zero, which eliminates friction with the lifting bar.  With the air supply on, and the drive belt removed, I can gently blow the arm from one side to the other - it returns to the centre because of the weight of the Litz wires and that tiny air tube.  Alternately, very slight adjustments of the shaft angle move the arm from side to side.  I have never seen any sign of stiction, but my first approach would be to gently dust with that micro-fibre cloth.

@richardbrand Glad to hear that you are enjoying your music!

Can you tell me about your involvement with Holbo?

It started with an interest in trying out a linear tracking arm. I was a bit tired of tinkering with my vintage TD124 MKII (still the best looking turntable imo), and wanted something relatively easy to live with. The Holbo dealer here in Norway had a nice deal for the outgoing model 1, which looked like good value when you consider its dual air capabilities. So, after reading raving reviews, especially one where it was paired with my DS-Audio E1, and they took my EAT turntable, which I did not particularily like, in trade-in. Good deal over all.

The E1 has since been replaced by an E3, and I have to say that my experience matches yours, the Holbo-DS Audio combination has enlightened (my turn to pun) my listening experience. The amount of information extracted from the grooves along with the lowered noise level is simply addicitve. I also enjoy the feel of it, and ease of operation. 

My only complaints are that the motor is a bit noisy and the tendency to get stuck in a groove for a couple of rounds. Dusting the shaft seems to rectify this, although I am covering it up when it is not in use. Is it perhaps a bit picky when it comes to worn records?

phono stage from SoulNote 

Good to know, and I read from your post that the upgrade is worth the cost. For the moment, I will spend money on records 

 The full saga to date 

Will dive into this, thanks!

gently dust with that micro-fibre cloth.

Exactly what the doctor (Bostjan) prescribed:

Always clean the air bearing shaft with a dry microfiber cloth!

Do not use any cleaners or alcohol.

I wouldnt consider any arm of this type that wasnt really expensive. Cant really speak to the table but the arm looks inadequate. The problems with linear arms, in my experience, is that it is really difficult to do them correctly and also very costly. If the arm isnt stable and secure you will lose any advantage gained from this arm type and then some. I remember looking at the Kuzma and also the CS Port. Only the CS Port grabbed me and held on for a time. 

Only the CS Port grabbed me and held on for a time.

I've heard the CS Port linear tracker in action using a MSL cartridge. Very transparent with gobs of inner detail. Made a lasting impression.

@audition__audio 

I wouldnt consider any arm of this type that wasnt really expensive

Maybe I could interest you in a DAC then! 

The one I have in mind for you is from Ideon Audio - the Axion DAC which you can check out here: AXIOM DAC - Ideon Audio.  It is a three-box solution which is just as well because it weighs in at 132-kgs or 290-lbs.  Part of that is for the power supply which outputs 2-kVA which is quite a lot for a DAC that outputs milli Watts.  But the best thing though is the price - around A$300,000.  Must be good, then.

I had to check the spelling of Ideon and that the release date was not 1 April.  It is distributed in Australia by Absolute Hi End, the very same people who sold me my DS Audio optical cartridge and SoulNote Equalizer.

I have not noticed any posts from you in the past, but I see that science and engineering are not really your thing!

I love the way scientists and engineers think their profession adds any credibility. It hobbles you and you become a victim of your education as well as the way you choose to view the world

I wonder if you can name any significant bit of audio gear that did not have input from scientists or engineers?  I love the way you looked at the CSPort - maybe their Linear Arm AFU1-2.  The design principles are almost identical to the Holbo linear tracking tonearm and the great thing is that the CSPort costs about four times as much, even though it does not include a table, let alone an integrated air-bearing one!

If I were you, I’d keep looking