British audio brand Linn has collaborated with Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple’s former design chief, and his new venture LoveFrom on a 50th-anniversary edition model of its iconic Sondek LP12 turntable. Only 250 examples of the Linn Sondek LP12-50 will be made and delivered between August 2023 and March 2024, priced at a whopping $60,000. Known for designing some of the most legendary Apple products, the celebrated British product designer left the tech giant in 2019 to start LoveFrom with his close friend Marc Newson. Over the last couple of years, the design firm has worked on projects like perfecting a typeface, designing an emblem for King Charles’ coronation, and creating a clown nose for British charity Comic Relief. According to Fast Company, the anniversary edition turntable is Ive’s “first hardware project post-Apple.”
Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun wrote in a blog post that the collaboration dates back to early 2022 when he received a LinkedIn request for a meeting with Ive out of the blue. He even deleted the message thinking it was fake. The two eventually connected over a FaceTime meeting where Ive talked about his admiration for Linn and its products and expressed his intention to buy a turntable himself. The idea for the 50th-anniversary edition of the LP12 was spawned when the British designer told Tiefenbrun that “if Linn ever needed help on a project, LoveFrom would love to get involved.”
Engineers at Linn and designers at LoveFrom started working on the project by assessing every component of the LP12. The idea was to create something special without changing the basic architecture of the iconic turntable. The audio components of the Sondek LP12-50 were taken care of by Linn, including the “Bedrok” plinth made from a dense wood designed to minimize vibrations. On the other hand, LoveFrom focused on the product design, giving it aesthetic updates like swapping the squared-off components with ones that have smooth, curved edges. The plastic rocker power button has been replaced by an aluminum circle, while new hinges were designed for the cover that can hold it open at any angle. Interestingly, the project was done by LoveFrom pro bono and there are no contracts or financial arrangements between the two companies.
