LoveFrom, the design firm formed by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, has collaborated with British audio brand Linn on a 50th anniversary edition of its Sondek LP12 turntable. Only 250 models of the Linn Sondek LP12-50 it will be produced and delivered between August 2023 and March 2024, with the limited edition turntable available to pre-order now for $60,000 (£50,000).
According a blog post From Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun, the collaboration dates back to early 2022 when Tiefenbrun was offered a meeting with Ive out of the blue via LinkedIn. Eventually, the two companies decided to collaborate on the next turntable, which fast company calls Ive’s “first post-Apple hardware project.”
Linn has focused on the sonic elements of the Sondek LP12-50 as a pedestal called the “Bedrok” made of a dense wood designed to minimize vibrations. Meanwhile, LoveFrom focused more on his industrial design. “We saw a number of areas where there could be small improvements and smooth evolutions of the current design,” says Ive. fast company. Previously boxy components have been given softer edges, a plastic rocker power button has been swapped for an aluminum circle, and new hinges have been developed for the machine’s dust cover that can hold it open at any angle.
Curiously, fast company reports that LoveFrom’s work on Linn’s Sondek LP12-50 was free of charge and that “no contract or other financial arrangement exists” between the two companies. “There is a substantial percentage of our work that we do simply for the love of it,” Ive said, noting that the design firm makes money from its long-term contracts with companies like Airbnb and Ferrari.
