Levi: Harman/Kardon -inspired Levitating Turntable Concept

Successful design examples from the past inspire the future. South Korean designers Jihyo Seo and Jimin Hwang were impressed by the Harman/Kardon technique and came up with a levitating platter turntable inspired by the brand.

The model was simply named Levi. Levitation was provided by an electromagnetic system. Tonearms of different colors can be changed at will – they have the same properties. On a white oval table, there are bright colored buttons for switching on, adjusting the speed (12 and 17 turns are indicated) and selecting a listening mode.

The listening modes, like tone arms of different colors, first of all solve the question of aesthetics: in different modes, the disc, together with the arm base, rhythmically lowers and rises in time with the melodies, while changing the sound profile.

The concept remains in the project at the moment and raises many questions about the potential implementation, operation and value as a sound reproducing device, and not a designer gizmo. But it still looks interesting.