Holbo Mkll Airbearing Turntable
We find ourselves curiously compelled to pronounce ‘Holbo’ in a cod-Swedish accent rather than a Slovene one, but then we confess to being a little short on Slovenian background information until our research prior to the arrival of this turntable from that Central European locale. We might surmise that one national characteristic is an innovative way of doing things differently, as this is the first turntable we have reviewed which arrived with an offboard box that is not an isolated power supply, nor an offboard phono stage, but an air pump, proudly branded “Holbo Air Pump”. Which of course means we can chuckle as we insert the following amusing subheading...
Pump up the volume
What precisely is Holbo pumping up, aside from the volume? Bostjan Holc, the founder of Slovenian “artisan company” Holbo, set out to make a turntable in which the moving mechanical parts do not touch each other at all. By eliminating the last vestiges of friction and physical transmission, says his company, micro vibrations and mechanical friction might be eliminated, and music could be revealed in all its magnificence, dynamics and musicality.
How to achieve this? With what Holbo calls an airbearing system, which places the platter on a bearing of air. That’s not floating around in mid air like the recent Mag-lev, but with an air-bearing for the spindle instead of mechnical contact, whether oiled or not. Indeed Holbo here doubles down on the theme ingredient, with the tonearm also moving on a bed of air. But from where does this cushioning air come from?
The answer is the air pump, and indeed on this latest Holbo Mk II Airbearing Turntable System it’s a combination air pump and external power supply (in the Mk I version, these were separate units). In addition to twist-locking the power cable between the external box and the main
