As a fan of old school records, I like to keep an eye on the world of turntables. And it turns out that Jony Ive, the man behind the iconic design of almost every major product that resurrected Apple following the return of Steve Jobs, is as well. Ive’s company, LoveFrom, has applied its skills to modernising the Linn Sondek LP12 as part of that hardware’s 50th anniversary edition.
The project is quite subtle with Ive describing it as “very gentle and modest”. The overall design of the turntable couldn’t be drastically altered as that would affect the acoustics. As a result, the main changes are rounded off rather than squared off corners for some components, a round aluminium power button replacing the original plastic rocker and a new hinge for the lid so it remains open at any angle.
The original, minimalist design must appeal to Ive, who is famous, or perhaps infamous, for the highly stropped down devices and. software he designed while at Apple.
If you’re after one of these gorgeous turntables you’ll need to be quick and have a fat wallet. There are just 250 of these limited edition turntables and they cost a last USD$60,000 each.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.