August 2023

Linn Sondek LP12 Turntable Celebrates Its' 50th Anniversary
More than 100,000 of these high-performance decks have been made.
Editorial By Alan Sircom

  We no longer publish news in the pages of the magazine. With news running at the speed of the Internet, by the time that news piece makes it into print in a monthly magazine, it's not 'news'... it's 'olds'.

But this month, there was a news item worth commenting on; not necessarily for the news itself, but the seemingly inevitable rant that came as a result of its announcement.

It's 50 years since the first Linn Sondek LP12 turntable rolled out of a factory in Glasgow. Since then, more than 100,000 of these high-performance decks have been made, and a brisk trade in updates and upgrades (from both Linn and third parties) has sprung up. And while the LP12 has its share of detractors and nay-sayers, it still represents a standard both in sound and build, that others can be judged against.

The 50th Anniversary of this turntable took an interesting turn when a designer called the company to praise the evergreen vinyl-spinner. That designer was none other than Sir Jony Ive, better known for his 28-year long involvement with Apple and the iPod, iPhone, iPad and iMac (among others) that he designed. Linn couldn't let that praise go unnoticed, and the end result is 250 Linn turntables, with improvements by Ive and his LoveFrom design group.

The fact this was Ive's first industrial design after leaving Apple seems to have been overlooked. That Jony Ive and his team could only improve on the hinges and the switch (and make the edges of the armboard and top plate curved) went entirely unnoticed. Putting Linn in front of the well-heeled and design-led with a hearty 'OK' from one of the world's greatest living industrial designers didn't figure.

The audio world just didn't like it!

Sure, effectively doubling the cost of a top LP12 for a limited edition model and a seal of approval is a bit of an ask (even though it is also is the first LP12 to use a new plinth material, which reads a lot like Panzerholz). And OK, audio's many gatekeepers grudgingly admitted that the current hinges aren't that good and a flush-mounted switch might be a nice idea... but they know the LP12 and know how to design it better than some upstart who just happens to have some of the most iconic 21st century product designs under his belt.

I think this is missing the point. The 250 turntables will come and go, but the LP12 will forever be the product that Jony Ive tried to improve... and all he could do was change the switch and hinges. That's one heck of a feather in the brand's cap!

Congratulations: Our congratulations go out to Thomas Hardy, from Wisconsin in the USA, who wins an awesome USB II-R cable from Computer Audio Design. Well done!

Alan Sircom, Editor hi-fi+

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