If Apple Designed a Turntable, This Is Probably What It Would Look Like

[0339327]

It’s priced like an Apple product too 🤣

I’m just surprised they couldn’t come up with a better name like iScratch or iSpin…🤔

Now all we need is a three minute video with Sir Ive himself discussing it at length and then releasing it in four more colors at an over-hyped press conference!

 

[CitizenJohnJohn]

"circular elements"

Kinda tricky to have a turntable without those.

 

[timber]

It actually looks more utilitarian and purpose oriented that the last stuff he designed at Apple.

 

[Feek]

I looked up LP-12s and most of them don't even cross pass $800.

First few sold items on eBay

 

[heystu]

The premium piece of audio technology features many of the classic hallmarks of an Ive-approved product, right down to the smoothed off aluminum edges, circular elements, and neutral, minimalist aesthetic.

Ahem...Mr Ive is British, aluminium please...

 

[msackey]

It might be designed by Ive, but I don't think this looks very "Apple" like. In part, it's because the product is inspired by a previous turntable design which itself was not through an Apple lineage. I don't think this looks like an Apple product at all.

It looks chunky.

It has these great protruding knobs for feet.

It's thick.

None of that is current or recent Apple design language.

 

[MNJohn]

The LP-12 is one of the best turntables available in the world, it's been right at the top for many years and is worth every penny (talking about their standard models, not specifically this one). It's clear that the majority of posts in this thread already are being made by people who have never heard of Linn.


This is a prime example, there may be turntables that look like this and cost $200 but they don't sound anything like a Linn.

This limited edition is somewhat more expensive than the normal version.

I'm not sure that Jony designing the hinges and speed switch will make any actual difference to the sound quality though.

Most “rich” people are rich because the don’t waste $60k on a depreciating asset like a turntable.

 

[Feek]

It might be designed by Ive, but I don't think this looks very "Apple" like. In part, it's because the product is inspired by a previous turntable design which itself was not through an Apple lineage. I don't think this looks like an Apple product at all.

All he designed was the hinges and the switch.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

The LP-12 is one of the best turntables available in the world, it's been right at the top for many years and is worth every penny (talking about their standard models, not specifically this one). It's clear that the majority of posts in this thread already are being made by people who have never heard of Linn.


This is a prime example, there may be turntables that look like this and cost $200 but they don't sound anything like a Linn.

This limited edition is somewhat more expensive than the normal version.

I'm not sure that Jony designing the hinges and speed switch will make any actual difference to the sound quality though.

Can you describe what a $60,000 turntable (plus god-knows-how-much extra for preamps and amps and speakers) sounds like compared to a decent $300 turntable and decent cartridge connected to decent consumer electronics? Hard to imagine the grooves on the piece of plastic hold such magic.

I remember, back in the day, having purchased an electronic gadget for my rack of equipment (I think it was from Dolby) that removed the pops and clicks from records. It didn't really work.

 

[3xBoom]

A $60K insanity. Hard pass. What a waste of talent.

 

[entropys]

I think I had something that looked like that in the 1980s!

In fact mine was better as it had blocks around the turntable which became still when spinning at exactly the right speed. They seem to have missed theirs off.

if it was black you would swear it was a NAD!

well, maybe a fair bit more heft to the platter.

 

[falkon-engine]

$60K with no wheels, no Serato, no Apple Silicon, no Augmented Reality. This is the ultimate reality distortion field.

 

[timber]

Can you describe what a $60,000 turntable (plus god-knows-how-much extra for preamps and amps and speakers) sounds like compared to a decent $300 turntable and decent cartridge connected to decent consumer electronics? Hard to imagine the grooves on the piece of plastic hold such magic.

If quality was the thing nobody would be buying vinyl records.

 

[KaiFiMacFan]

The thing about high-end audio is you get exponentially increasing diminishing returns after a certain price point. Yes, a $2000 turntable is going to be more solidly built and sound better than a $500 one. But if you buy a $60K turntable, you’re paying for the privilege of owning a rare, boutique item, not because it sounds 60x better than a $1K table.

And with vinyl, as with all audio, a lot of the quality depends on the pressing and the recording (as well as the selection of cartridge and phono stage). It’s a very “garbage in, garbage out” hobby. A $60K turntable can’t make a mediocre recording sound good. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, the higher end your system, the more the flaws of a recording are revealed.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Its horrible looking and way overpriced

I think it looks great. There's no way I'd buy it though, even if it was $400.

 

[Feek]

Can you describe what a $60,000 turntable (plus god-knows-how-much extra for preamps and amps and speakers) sounds like compared to a decent $300 turntable and decent cartridge connected to decent consumer electronics? Hard to imagine the grooves on the piece of plastic hold such magic.

No. I'm rubbish at describing things like that.

If you want to know more, have a read of this: https://www.whathifi.com/linn/klimax-lp12/review

That's a review of a standard LP-12 that's about a third of the cost of this special edition. There are many reviews on the internet of the LP-12, you'll be hard pushed to find one that doesn't rave about it.

I'm not defending Linn for selling a $60,000 deck here, what I'm trying to do is point out that this is one of the best record decks in the world and the standard models are priced accordingly. The majority of readers will never have heard of Linn and because it looks like a £200 deck, they'll compare it as such.

It's like comparing a £1400 iPhone with a £100 Chinese copy smartphone.

They're selling a limited edition version with two parts designed by Jony Ive (the hinge and switch). They'll sell out very quickly and these will become collectors items.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

The time when you still had to put a physical device on or into a machine was magical. Our way of consuming music today does not have any magic any more. And I will never pay for a file made out of zeros and ones. A record collection was something you could give to your children or grand children, but decades of Spotify subscriptions will cost you a lot of money without leaving any value.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

"There's a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it,"

HaHa, yeah alright.

I’d say it’s the 60k asking price.

LoveFrom did the design for free, and gets no money from the parts they designed for this turntable. Also, LoveFrom doesn’t set the price, Linn does.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Wow. Jony Ive may be the one rich person that really shows what it must be like to be rich. Yeah they all have megayachts and god knows what else. But Jony continually demonstrates that he just lives in a whole other world.

My first question was how much, so good job answering that in the second sentence. I knew it would be expensive but that’s 10x what I expected.

I don’t mean this disparagingly. If I had that kind of money I’d use ultra premium everything too.

 

[msackey]

All he designed was the hinges and the switch.

Interesting.

This made me look deeper than just the Macrumors article which itself headlined as "If Apple Designed a Turntable, This Is Probably What It Would Look Like" and has body text that suggests Ive had more involvement. But the article linked to the turntable company does indeed suggest that Ive worked on the control speed and hinges, though one could also read it to suggest a bit more. That said, in looking at the hinges, it doesn't look like Apple language. The control switch (is that the knob with the red and green lights?) does look a little more like something in the Apple world.

I think Apple hinges usually do not reveal their mechanism. The hinge of this turntable, reveals it very clearly. Compare that to how the hinge of the AirPods case looks like, or the hinges of various Apple laptops. Apple hinges tend to be both hidden and not very mechanistically revealing.

 

[bookcase]

It's beautiful. Then I saw the price tag. Seriously?!

 

[laptech]

What's the betting if a company such as ifixit did a teardown of the turntable they would find it was made from many cheap parts but is being sold at a premium price due to the brand name and the association of the person(s) who designed it.

 

[johnhackworth]

Dropping $60k on this record player would be unapologetically stupid! 🤣

Why? It's not an unusual price for a piece of high-end hi-fi.

 

[ashdelacroix]

“Last year, I was approached by Sir Jony Ive. He shared his own enduring admiration for Linn – our designs, our ethos and our relentless pursuit of musical perfection. I was pleased to be able to reciprocate his admiration, and to discuss our shared values of beauty in design, peerless performance, user experience, and attention to detail. Our upcoming fiftieth anniversary year presented the perfect opportunity to create something extraordinary, together – and where better to start than with the product that started it all, Sondek LP12? “

Gilad Tiefenbrun, Linn CEO


“This project has been so life-affirming and so joyful to work on… LoveFrom has worked together with brilliant, kind people at Linn who share our obsessiveness to make something wonderful and without compromise. And at the same time, we have been able to play a small part in celebrating fifty years of an icon.”

Sir Jony Ive, LoveFrom


Also available in Natural. I think it is rather beautiful.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

If quality was the thing nobody would be buying vinyl records.

What's the "thing" then?