2023-07-10 16:30:03
News JVTech Iconic Apple designer’s new product costs 60,000 euros, and there may not be enough for everyone
Published on 07/10/2023 at 18:30
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Long present at Apple as head of design for the brand’s devices, Jony Ive has just unveiled his first high-tech project since leaving the Cupertino company: a turntable that costs a whopping $60,000.
The vinyl record trend is in full swing, and many brands of high-tech products have understood that it is interesting to bring out turntables on the market. There are a large number of them at modest prices from brands such as Audio-Technica, Lenco or Pioneer. But some manufacturers have decided to hit much higher prices.
Jony Ive partnering with the Linn brand, and it’s hurting the wallet
The British brand Linn is a reference in the field of high-fidelity sound. Its products are aimed at seasoned audiophiles, and they are very expensive: some turntables exceed 30,000 euros, like the Linn Klimax LP12. But there is an even more expensive version of this device, which flirts with 60,000 euros : the 50th anniversary edition, designed by Jony Ive.
It’s LoveFrom, the design firm of Jony Ive, which is at the origin of this creation proposed in only 250 copies. The price displayed on the brand’s website is 50,000 pounds sterling, or around 60,000 euros. This is a turntable that is supposed to offer an unparalleled sound experiencethanks to various technologies developed by Linn, including a new Bedrok skirting board, “formed from orthogonal layers of beech under extreme pressure to create an entirely new, strong and massive material. The resulting ultra-dense wood has negligible resonance and provides superior insulating housing for the turntable mechanism”explains the brand.
Each turntable will be handcrafted and will bear the name of its assembler. Its manufacture and the associated tests will be carried out in Glasgow. Pre-orders are open and the manufacture of the 250 pieces will take place between August 2023 and March 2024which means that the wealthy audiophiles who will afford it will have to be patient.
Jony Ive’s first post-Apple project
Asked by the Fast Company website, the former designer of Apple explains being at the origin of this collaboration. He offered his services to Linn, who quickly accepted. His design studio, LoveFrom, had to adapt to the acoustic constraints of the turntableand ultimately, the differences between this collector’s edition and the standard edition, half the price, turn out to be quite subtle. A plastic button is now aluminum, square corners have been rounded, new hinges have appeared for the dust cover… No real revolution, and yet, that seems to be enough to double the price of the plate.
Another point revealed by Fast Company: a priori, Jony Ive was not paid to carry out this work. “There is a substantial percentage of our work that we do just for the fun of it”, declared the designer, who still makes a nice publicity in passing. We imagine that LoveFrom’s contracts with Ferrari and Airbnb are, for their part, much more lucrative. It now remains to be seen whether Linn will sell the 250 units of its €60,000 turntable. If that’s too much for you, you can fall back on one of the models under 300 euros available on Amazon: it will probably be enough to listen to your collection of OSTs of games on vinyl.
Find a selection of turntables on Amazon
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