LoveFrom, the design firm founded by Apple’s former chief designer Jony Ive, has teamed up with British audio brand Linn on a 50th anniversary edition of its Sondek LP12 turntable. Only 250 models of the Linn Sondek LP12-50 will be produced and delivered between August 2023 and March 2024, with the limited edition turntable now available to pre-order for an eye-watering $60,000 (£50,000).
According to a blog post of Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun, the collaboration dates from early 2022 when Tiefenbrun was offered a meeting with Ive via LinkedIn out of the blue. Ultimately, the two companies decided to collaborate on the upcoming turntable, which Fast company to call to action Ive’s “first post-Apple hardware project.”
Linn has focused on the sonic elements of the Sondek LP12-50, such as a so-called “Bedskirt” plinth made of dense wood that is designed to minimize vibration. Meanwhile, LoveFrom focused more on the industrial design. “We saw a number of areas where small improvements and gentle evolutions of the current design are possible,” says Ive Fast company. Previously square components have smoother edges, a plastic power button has been replaced with an aluminum circle, and new hinges have been developed for the machine’s dust cover that can hold it open at any angle.
interesting, Fast company reports that LoveFrom’s work on Linn’s Sondek LP12-50 was pro bono, and that there is “no contract or other financial arrangement” between the two firms. “There’s a substantial percentage of our work that we do purely because we enjoy doing it,” Ive said, noting that the design firm makes money from its long-term contracts with the likes of Airbnb and Ferrari.
