Review: Holbo Airbearing Turntable, Part 2

In Part 1 of this review I went over the design and setup of the Holbo Turntable system. I had concluded that both in theory and in manufacturing execution the Holbo had gotten my attention. But no amount of design theory or manufacturing execution can guarantee an excellent audio product.

Let’s face it, you don’t know how good a turntable is until you spin a few albums. Not long after I lowered the stylus on the first album, I knew this was an exceptional turntable. I immediately recognized a cohesiveness to the music against a dead quiet background. There was a relaxed yet very dynamic presentation that had my attention from the first cut. My foot was tapping right out of the gate. Speed stability was spot on, and the soundstage was wide, deep, and very well focused.

This level of performance was consistent throughout the entire side of the album with no variation. There were virtually zero tracking errors. This level of consistency is one of the advantages of a tangential arm, and it is why I have pursued this type of tonearm for so many years.

Proportionally Correct Soundstage

The Holbo Airbearing Turntable System has the ability to throw an exceptionally wide soundstage. While each instrument is very well focused within the stage, you get a nice feeling of space between the instruments, but the space is not artificially large or bloated. When I played a large-scale orchestral recording, the soundstage sounded huge. On the other hand, intimate recordings sound like you are in that venue.

The soundstage feels proportionally correct for the music being played. There is a seamlessness to the sense of space. There was no disorganized music here.  Every part of the listening experience seemed to relate to the other.

A Portal for Your Time Machine

No, I wasn’t at Woodstock nor was I at this epic concert in Central Park in 1981. By the time I got to side four of this album though and the drums started for “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover,” I was in Central Park. I was on an emotional rollercoaster that took me from air drumming to thoughtful, then happy feelings, and at the end of the concert, I was just grateful I could sit in my listening room and be transported to this venue.

When people give me a crazy look when I talk about high-end audio, I just smile to myself and feel lucky knowing that I own a time machine. This Holbo turntable and your vinyl collection can be your portal to epic concerts and legendary performers.

Dynamics that Capture “Life”

The Holbo Airbearing Turntable System presents dynamics that are wonderfully rendered. They capture the “life” a recording can have. This is an essential quality I need from a component of it’s going to draw me into the music.

With the Holbo turntable system, the leading-edge transients blended perfectly with the notes, and the music was very organized, focused and above all coherent. Music explodes from a black background. The air-bearing platter is dead quiet, which I am sure contributes to how this table reproduces dynamics.  

I have heard Willie Nelson live numerous times throughout my life, and I am proud to say that I can even remember a number of these performances. Sadly, some of my memories were lost with the brain cells that were killed during some of these events.

Wynton is the best-known member of the exceptionally talented Marsalis Family from New Orleans. The patriarch of the family, Ellis Marsalis Jr., recently passed away at age 85. It was a very sad day here in the Big Easy and for the World Jazz scene.

The Willie and Wynton album is an excellent recording and it captures the chemistry of a popular musician playing with Wynton’s amazing band. Make no mistake, the focus is on Willie but the star of the album is Wynton and his band.

The micro and macro dynamics of the brass and percussion on this album are challenging. There is a lot going on musically. The Holbo, with its great soundstaging, excellent dynamics, and its ability to resolve complex compositions, really captures the venue and the energy that was on stage that evening. I listened to all four sides of the album straight thru. I couldn’t pull myself away to get into “reviewer mode”. I just wanted to listen to music and be in the audience.

‘Nuff said….

Bass, the Elephant in the Room

This area is an important area to address since we are dealing with an air- bearing arm and platter. There is a school of thought that this type of table can be “thin” in the bass. Well, as with most things in high-end audio, there are no absolutes. This table, paired with the right cartridge, can rock the house.

I was especially impressed that the harmonic richness and detail of an upright bass is nicely revealed. Overall, the bass stays very clean up through the midbass which allows the midrange to be very open. All this contributes to this turntable’ tables excellent Pace, Rhythm and Timing.  

One other aspect that stood out was the focus of the bass. A kick drum, for example, is reproduced with excellent focus and impact. It is not enlarged, smeared, or slowed. This is an important quality for me in a turntable.

Bass has to be clean, quick, and tuneful. This table and tonearm accomplish that. The Holbo table produced a quality and quantity of bass that was to my liking.  I did not want any more than it provided.

I am Finally Set Straight

So what we have here with the Holbo Airbearing Turntable System is a turntable system that simply gets out the way of whatever you are playing. I found it to be very even-handed in its treatment of bass, midrange, and treble. No particular area is emphasized or highlighted and all three areas are woven into one complete presentation.  It is dynamically engaging and does not draw attention to itself or impose its personality on the music.

Because of this, the Holbo turntable enables you to easily fall into that wonderful state of mind we all desire where you become enthralled with the music and forget about the system. That is what I am looking for with my audio system.

Conclusion

If you are searching for a turntable system that is well-engineered and beautifully built and that will provide endless hours of hassle-free music pleasure, this could easily be your Desert Island turntable.

The Holbo is an absolute pleasure to handle and work with day in and day out. Each time you use it you know you know it is a quality component. It does what it is designed to do and it does it in a way that has you looking forward to using it each time you get ready to play an album.

Its $7,900.00 price is about half the cost of its closest competition that offers similar features, and the Holbo will challenge many of the turntables out there that cost a LOT more. Remember, you get a complete air-bearing turntable and air-bearing tonearm system. Considering that this is a system, the price shouldn’t be a “bridge too far” for someone who is exploring this level of performance. 

So after all these years of searching I have finally found a tangential arm solution that fulfills the promise I always suspected they had, AND I get an air-bearing platter as a bonus.  My vinyl listening just got a whole lot better. Yours can also.

Very highly recommended!

P.S. Don’t forget to read Part 1 of this review of the Holbo Airbearing Turntable System!