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

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.

@pal_gunnestad 

You mentioned worn records, and I note that your DS Audio cartridge has an elliptical stylus.

Before I bought the Holbo, I replaced my old stylus with micro-line, which seems to bridge over the places worn by older shapes.  Even my old records sound like new.

That’s why I went up the range a little bit, with the DS003 in order to get a line contact stylus.

In my book, everyone is free to pursue arms and equipment in all price classes and visual categories, even in the Idion Audio range! But I don't really see the need to go posting about it in a thread that clearly does not match ones preferences.

@richardbrand

I hope you both enjoyed your trip, in spite of wardrobe challenges and as for exchange rates, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Although atm, the NOK is good value.

Almost 25 years ago, I actually spent a month backpacking on the Australian east coast (my travelling mate went to Perth by train, after 24hrs he asked the conductor "are we there yet", he looked at his watch and replied "about half way"), and have good memories, both of the scenery, but also the friendly and welcoming Aussies.

As for classical music, it is a big unknown to me. I have not heard of this label, but will have a look at the recording you mention. Looks like it is digital only? 

level the turntable a bit more accurately

I did another round with my level, let's see if it helps, thanks!

You might be pleasantly surprised what a Mk2 would cost you

Hehe, maybe he does trade-ins!

Valid point about the stylus. Apparently a countryman of yours, Allclear Audio, retips DS Audio carts with a boron cantilever and a nude micro ridge for a fair price.