Bang & Olufsen, the Danish luxury audio brand known for combining mid-century modern aesthetics with contemporary audio technology and enormous price tags, is sticking true to its roots. Engadget reports the company has refurbished 95 turntables from the 1970s and will start selling them on October 19. The Beogram 4000 series turntables will cost $11,000 each. Which is extravagant even by B&O's standards.
The record player —
The Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition is the first product from Bang & Olufsen’s Classics range. Only 95 were refurbished as a nod to the company’s 95th anniversary.
“We wanted to create new design elements to enhance the original beauty of the Beogram 4000 Series,” Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, leader of the Classics initiative, said in a statement. “From the champagne-coloured aluminium [sic] tone to the hand-crafted wooden frame to the updated finish on the touch-sensitive control panel, we have given the product a modern facelift while maintaining the integrity of the original.”
The original designers were immensely concerned with future-proofing the turntable, so the Classics team only needed to build on what was laid out for them. An ahead-of-its-time tone-arm only needs a fresh, high-performance stylus, and empty space left inside allowed the new team to add a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) phono pre-amplifier so it can connect to modern speakers and phones.
Oh, to be rich —
Bang & Olufsen make the kinds of speakers and headphones you buy on Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue, so the price tag for these aged turntables isn’t surprising. With a lineup including sculptural speakers that start at $85,000, an $11,000 turntable is practically a steal. The limited stock drives up the price as much as the revered brand name, and you can almost guarantee they’ll be worth even more on the resale market almost immediately.
Now absent from Apple stores, B&O's got another excuse to brag about being unattainable to the general public. So, if you’re quarantining on your yacht (or yacht-house) go off, why don't you? Order an Ayn Rand audiobook on vinyl, misunderstand the ethos of your classic rock heroes, and light cigars with $100 bills.
