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

@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 

Science and engineering are fine. They need to just stay in their lanes and feel secure in the reality that the way they view the world is limited by not only the science but also by the personalities of those that typically get into science.

Everything else you got wrong. But just interpret as you see fit. 

To get hurt over me saying a linear tracking arm should be more expensive and that the arm looked inadequate is so petty and immature. Oh yes I forgot this is your arm and hence a critical statement about the arm is an insult directed at you.

Someone ought to write a Hi-Fi For Dummies book.

"I trust my ears! Everything matters! The more you pay, the better it sounds! Science schmience, I do my own research!"

There, I did it. You're welcome.

@pal_gunnestad 

I was wondering where you are from!  My partner and I spent a month in Norway in your winter, having left Sydney on a 47 degree Celsius day with no stop-overs, except for a week in Iceland.  It was really hard to juggle suitable clothing!

We went from Oslo to Bergen by train and electric ferry, then to the Lofoten Islands and ended up in Tromso with a few days at the Arctic Panorama Lodge in between. Fortunately, it is hard to mentally convert NOK and AUD so we did not find out how expensive things are until we got home, and Sydney is not exactly cheap.

I often refer on this Forum to Norwegian recording company 2L.no as the best there is.  The affinity between Norway and Australia comes across in 2L.no's recording of Percy Grainger playing Grieg on piano rolls in 1921, coupled with a modern orchestra in full surround sound.

The majority of my recent purchases seem to feature the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and anything by Klaus Makela is a must.  His Oslo Philharmonic Sibelius recordings are knock-outs.  Norway punches well above its weight 

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

I've never had that issue!  One of the reviews did and the reviewer discovered they needed to level the turntable a bit more accurately.  I did have a mistracking issue when I first installed my DS003 cartridge, but I had accidentally set my digital tracking force gauge to read in grains, not grams.  Nothing will track well at 0.1 grams 

I have a suspicion that Holbo changed to a new Japanese motor on the Mk2.  Certainly, I cannot hear any motor noise.  Correction:  I have just used a stethoscope and there is a very faint noise when the probe is very close to the motor.  Nothing at all on the far side of the plinth.

The same goes for the combined power supply / air compressor unit.  It is absolutely silent to my ears, unless I get bone contact through my skull.

The resonant frequency of my tonearm / cartridge is about 6-Hz according to my Tacit test record.

For me, the SoulNote Equalizer was not an upgrade because I never had a DS Audio one to upgrade from!  The SoulNote was recommended by Absolute High End who are the Australian distributor for DS Audio.  I bought it solely on their recommendation - it was so new there was not even a review.  Either way, they would have got my money!

I was saving for a Holbo when Bostjan suddenly offered a direct sales model at about half the price I was expecting to pay.  You might be pleasantly surprised what a Mk2 would cost you 

@audition__audio 

To get hurt over me saying a linear tracking arm should be more expensive and that the arm looked inadequate is so petty and immature. Oh yes I forgot this is your arm and hence a critical statement about the arm is an insult directed at you

I am glad you picked up the irony in my response.  Far from being hurt, I am astounded at your arrogance.  There, like @devinplombier, I also said it.

The Holbo tonearm seems very like the CSPort except that it can handle lighter cartridges - I am guessing because its horizontal mass is quite low.  It handled my high compliance Shure V15 without problems.  Don’t let its looks deceive you - this is one very rigid arm.