Back in 1972, the Scottish audio company Linn introduced a record player that was destined to become a classic. The Linn Sondek LP12 originally sold for £80 (about $208 US, at the time) and has remained a popular turntable among audiophiles and music-lovers to this day.
The LP12 was designed to be upgradeable: the tonearm, platter, motor, power supply, bearings could all be replaced or upgraded over time when better parts became available. This was not only customer-friendly (allowing the owner to keep up with the state of the art), but it was also clever from a sales perspective, giving Linn a base for residual income from their most dedicated customers.
Forty years later, the company has introduced a limited edition of the Sondek LP12 turntable with a unique feature: its plinth (or base) is made out of wood from the top of a Highland Park Scotch Whisky barrel. The price? A cool £25,000 (a little over $40,000 in US dollars). Only 40 units have been manufactured. For those lucky purchasers of these limited edition beauties, Linn is also including a bottle of 40-year-old Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky, custom bottled for Linn and labeled as such.
We heard a live demo of the LP12 limited edition 40th Anniversay 'table at a hotel suite in Denver last week, as part of the CEDIA Expo. Although the demo was brief (a cut from a new recording of a female vocal artist on Linn's own record label), the turntable certainly sounded impressive, with lush midrange, low noise and excellent detail resolution. Buyers are surely in for a treat, not the least of which from that 40-year-old single malt. Journalists in attendance at the demo were encouraged to sniff, but not lick, the plinth.
The 40th Anniversary Linn Sondek LP12 turntable is available by special order from Linn dealers worldwide.
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