Harman Kardon inspired levitating turntable concept lends magic to your musical listening experience

While a casual listener is able to quench their audio thirst with the countless digital platforms and accessories that come at dirt cheap prices, a serious audiophile turns to gadgets that do the audio its full justice. Yes, a turntable is made for a hardcore audiophile, and the intricacies of it are something only a true music lover can understand – something I wish I could claim to be because I’m surely fascinated by these modern yet retro gadgets. Turntables have been popular with music listeners who like flat profile audio output in its rawest form possible. Combine their design aesthetic value, and turntables are hot property for an avid music collector without a doubt.

Jimin Hwang and Jihyo Seo from Seoul Korea have taken the classic turntable design and given it a modern twist that’s made for a geek music lovers den. The duo likes to call it the LEVI, a levitating turntable that wears the Harman Kardon branding. The unique concept design exemplifies the levitating nature of the platter actuated by the electromagnetic drive and coils – giving this turntable an air of super coolness. This enhances the experience of listening to vinyl records, giving audiophiles a new unprecedented high. It’s so satisfying to watch the record being played on a levitating platter, just like magic!

That floating aesthetic is perfectly matched with the pure white base of the turntable and the swappable tonearms in cool colors. To provide an aesthetic contrast – the weighted pendulum, cartridge, and mode toggle buttons do their desired bit. Coming back to the levitating aesthetic of the turntable – it’s further highlighted by the four-mode settings (soothing, refreshing, sweet, and bittersweet) giving it a whole new visual appeal. Depending on the mode chosen, the platter moves up and down with the rhythmic music notes. To change the record playing speed to 12 rpm or 17 rpm, the turntable has a chick dial. It goes without saying that Harman Kardon would be proud of this turntable design, and would want to emulate the blueprint for one of their speaker designs or even better, make a turntable on the same lines.

Designer: Jimin Hwang and Jihyo Seo

You Won’t See this on a Catwalk

The future of wearables has arrived and my goodness does it look well. Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (GATP) have been working on the future of wearables for quite some time now, trying to bridge that gap between textiles and technology – which for a while seemed more like a chasm. GATP have now officially bridged that gap with Project Jacquard – a denim jacket with conductive yarn. GATP began developing Project Jacquard over two long years ago with the god’s of denim, Levi’s. Now after all this time, a final release of the futuristic wearable is here with touch-activation clothing.

The jacket’s technology is located on the left arm cuff, which comprises of a removable and rechargeable pebble-like body of tech, connected to the jackets embedded/conductive yarn. What makes the Jacquard a smart wearable is the interactions – completely programmable by the user. Currently there are only three commands available to the user to execute – brush in, double tap, and brush out. These can be used to do such things as pause/play music, answer phone calls and a small handful of other requests.

This is truly a fantastic breakthrough and undeniably an exciting time for technology however, one must bear in mind that Project Jacquard is still in it’s infancy stage – with the rumour that the jacket can only be washed a maximum of 10 times before the conductive yarn loses its integration. Don’t let this deter you from the excitement surrounding the future of textile wearables, as this is only the beginning of something great.

Designers: Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group & Levi’s

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Levi’s Jeans CEO Urges People Not to Wash their Jeans


Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi's Jeans, is saying something that sounds oddball and eccentric yet it might just work. He is telling all the 501 wearers not to wash their denim at all. As an example...