Source: LInn
Ex-Apple design chief Jony Ive approached Scotland's audio firm Linn asking to collaborate on a turntable to mark the company's 50th anniversary.
Unless you count his exceptional redesign of the UK's Comic Relief charity red nose, Jony Ive has not worked on hardware since leaving Apple. But his LoveFrom firm has now partnered with Linn to produce a turntable that sells starting at 50,000 pounds Sterling (approximately $63,000).
"I couldn't have picked a better way of marking our 50th anniversary than with a landmark collaboration on the [classic turntable] Sondek LP12," said Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun in a very Apple-like promo video for the device. "We never collaborated before, and then suddenly, this phenomenal opportunity comes along. If I was gonna pick one person, or one organization on this planet that I would wanna collaborate with, it would be this one. "
"I got a LinkedIn request for a meeting with British design guru Sir Johnny Ive," continues Tiefenbrun. "The first thing he said to me was, I just want to tell you how much I love your company and your products."
"The thing that made this collaboration seem viable from the start is the enormous respect that Johnny was showing to the LP12," says Tiefenbrun. The LP12 is the world's longest-selling audio device, and Linn planned to keep what has been so popular for half a century, but also tweak "a few key elements to make it a little bit better for this special mission."
"I think people will be surprised to see some of the visual changes on the turntable," continues Tiefenbrun. "They're not going to be surprised to see some of the functional improvements that have been made."
Linn's limited edition Sondek LP12 50 can be reserved now. Only 250 will ever be made, and they will start to ship to buyers in August 2023.
While the turntable, and the Red Nose, are the first hardware designs to come out of LoveFrom, the company has already been working with Ferrari. It's not know yet, though, what the multi-year deal will see Ive and colleagues are specifically working on.
