Holbo airbearing turntable

"it’s just under $5K."

Oops! Mistakenly used Australian.

Paired with decent cart, $6K or so, seems reasonable entry.

If I found one like a recent phonostage used for 1/2, I’d grab it. Looks like the only thing limiting will be phonostage?

Thanks for the nod, @pindac . But I don’t own a Holbo, I’ve just experimented with some ideas while I built my own air bearing unit.

There are several sources of noise, the most important being the bearing and the motor. Also, resonances can arise in the plinth or the platter. From a casual inspection of the Holbo, it looks like a thrust air bearing to take the vertical load and a conventional bearing to keep the platter centred. Also, Fremer says this. Since thrust friction is a big source of noise, and if air is taking that out of the equation, that’s a big factor in the Holbo’s favour. Ultimately you want to be rid of the horizontal noise too, but that’s more common in the highest end TT at 100 times the cost. Resonances are less of a problem when there is no thrust bearing noise to excite them, but then there is interaction with the tonearm.

The air bearing tonearm looks like a fairly conventional unit, but the beam seems a little small to me - compare the Kuzma with a 20mm diameter beam. Then again, the Kuzma arm costs more than this whole unit. Also, those adjustments will be fiddly to get the best from the unit - but again, the unit isn’t costing big bucks, which is the cost of fiddle-free performance, as Fremer notes.

The motor does not look like it’s isolated from the plinth, which is an error, no matter how the motor is made. That said, the great thing about belt drive is that you can take the motor out, mount it on a separate plinth, and reduce motor noise by orders of magnitude. The late Tom Fletcher of Nottingham Analogue pioneered this solution a generation ago.

I understand about being your own importer - its a chancy business. But the rewards can be big too. Do you feel ... lucky?

It’s really impossible to give an opinion without hearing the unit because so many things can go wrong. That said, it may be very good for the money - and a little DIY could be enough to make it very good indeed. If Fremer is right, then this is a distinct possibility.

As for a dust magnet - never seen that. Anyway, what’s dust doing near a turntable? A vinyl room should be clean. And the cartridge body as well as wand should be grounded where feasible.

A few considerations which occur off the top of my head. Whatever you decide, good luck!

I have had a Holbo since 2018, I was a first adopter here in the US from what Bostjan Holc, the designer/builder/company owner told me a the time. There were no US distribution at the time, and I had just read a review in Polish online Hifidelity I believe, and the design seemed relatively simple(not to say it is simple by any means) and very promising.

Most air bearing tables looked like an oil rig, and overly complicated to set up and keep working. Bostjan had said that his arm bearing was in use for almost 20 years at the time, and that he had spent a lot of time perfecting the table over the course of time, and decided to manufacture it. By the way, I have no affiliation or monetary gains from this, I am only an end user!

After talking with Bostjan over the course of several weeks, I decided to give the table a shot, and ordered it. The transaction and delivery went as smooth as anything I could have asked for. He promised, and delivered. He was very straight forward, and I would do business with him again. It is a bummer that the US distribution has been off and on again, but I am sure that he will deliver.

With that said, I am very pleased with the table, yes it can be slightly fiddly to set up initially, but if one has been around tables and set them up, this is really a very straight forward design and setup. Like anything, worth taking the time with set up. Mainly leveling the table, and getting the arm set right with your cartridge. I find azimuth/alignment a bit tough at first, as the arm tube has a single allen bolt that holds it to the carrier. You have to use a bit of patience, a bit of practice makes perfect. The rest is easy.

The air pump is simple and very quiet, it does not make much noise at all, mine is situated right on the bottom shelf of my rack, and I cannot hear it while things are playing, let alone while it isn’t. Mine is also the very first edition, so I have to be mindful of operation, switching on the pump prior to starting the main drive, and then reverse when finishing. I believe the new model takes that bit out of the equation, it really is easy to get used to, and becomes second nature.

I have used several different cartridges on the table, from Dynavector, Denon, Van den hull, and cheap Nagoaka’s. Personally I like the Dynavectors, but the table seems very easy to match with various cartridges, MM or MC.

The table is very quiet in operation, and probably one of the quietest I have used regarding surface noise. The table is very dynamic sounding, yet still gives fine detail and shading of the recording.

I really have no real gripes about the table or how it sounds, or even set up. Yes, the motor mounting appears simplistic although I do think there are isolation o-rings, yet I find nothing seems to intrude upon the music itself. I am not one that tinkers continually, once set, I let it go, I enjoy music, not playing around.

As past owner of a couple of decently specced Linn LP12’s and Well Tempered tables, all of which I still like, the Holbo overall is still my favorite of them, and it has remained for the last 6 years. I also think these days, the price of it, seems very fair. I say this as analog isn’t my primary source, and has not been for a number of years, but when I play it, I enjoy it so very much! Good design, solid, great sounding table. One could spend a lot more and get a lot less in my humble opinion! FWIW.....

Oh, and as to the comment about the Holbo being a dust magnet, I have no idea there. I am just careful to keep mine covered when not in use, especially the air bearing carrier arm, but I have never had issues with that at all.

Seeing how the table itself is kind of a matte black finish, yes it will show dust maybe a bit more than other finishes, but again, no issues otherwise. I try to keep my area clean, and yes, dust is something I am careful about regardless! 

Ask the man who owns one. Sounds like everything I like in a turntable - and once you've heard good air, there's no going back. IMO. YMMV.