Looking for a new turntable, but want something that's a bit out of the ordinary? Musician and visual artist Brian Eno has created a limited-edition light-up turntable in association with the Paul Stolper Gallery – and it's positively lust-worthy.
The turntable, which builds on Eno's work with kaleidoscopic light boxes, is built from clear acrylic, and contains LEDs that cycle through psychedelic color combinations as your vinyl plays.
In an interview with Wallpaper, Eno explained the effect of the color-changing record player: "The light from it was tangible as if caught in a cloud of vapour. We sat watching for ages, transfixed by this totally new experience of light as a physical presence."
The Paul Stolper Gallery website doesn't reveal a price for Eno's turntable – which leads us to believe that it's very, very expensive. There are only 50 models in existence, all signed by the artist, so if you need a kaleidoscopic record player in your life, you'd better enquire fast.
Record players as works of art
We've seen some beautiful turntables in our time, and this latest art installation / hi-fi-hybrid is one of the most breathtaking. Even standard record players can be striking devices in their own right – think plinths made from premium materials and the elegance of the tonearm hovering above a well-worn vinyl – so they're a great canvas for artists to experiment with.
The most arresting turntable we've ever seen has to be the Beogram 4000c, which was originally launched in the 1970s, with a select number of existing models being refurbished last year as part of Bang & Olufsen's Classics initiative.
In order to recreate the Beogram 4000 series turntable and bring it up to date, the company had to identify 95 existing models, painstakingly disassemble and clean them, and add new parts.
As well as being given a good scrub, Bang & Olufsen polished and anodized the turntables' aluminum plinths to give them a graceful champagne-colored glow.
Like Eno's new turntable, the refurbished Beogram 4000c was made in limited quantities, and cost a pretty penny – $11,000 / £9,000 (about AU$15,000), to be exact.
There are cheaper options out there if you want your turntable to deliver some artistic flair as well as playing your records, though. The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon comes in a range of bright pop-art colors, and costs $400 / £349 / AU$550 at launch (though you can find it for less now that it's a few years old).
It won't give you a light show along with your music, but it will make your vinyl sound fantastic – and for those of us that don't have thousands in the bank to drop on a record player, that'll have to do.
- The best stereo speakers to pair with your record player
