CD storage solutions

[RussellG]

I thought that the Billy holds 400 Cds, while two Bennos hold 360 total.

That's all well and good George, but what about the other 4000 CDs 

[George]

That's all well and good George, but what about the other 4000 CDs 

[jlaurson]

Less space? I thought that the Billy holds 400 Cds, while two Bennos hold 360 total. Actually, I plan to get the white surface and in white the Benno is $40 x 2 = $80, while the Billy is only $35 plus $10 for the two extra shelves. So the Billy would be $35 cheaper. Like I said above though, my space is really cramped and the extra depth of the Billy would not be desirable.
I think that since the Billy is deeper, I'll go with the Benno, especially since the Billy only holds 40 more CDs.

"Less space?" Yes. Even with two extra shelves for Benny you'd not get anywhere near the 11 shelves of the Benno. And only with 11 shelves could Billy hold 400 vs. Benny's 2x180. You could get 6 extra shelves, of course, but you couldn't install them easily, because Billy doesn't have wholes for the shelf-pins drilled throughout but only in certain segments. My "400" was a purely theoretical number. I have them in white, too... they're no eye-sores but nothing more than you can expect from low-end Ikea junk. 

[George]

"Less space?" Yes. Even with two extra shelves for Benny you'd not get anywhere near the 11 shelves of the Benno. And only with 11 shelves could Billy hold 400 vs. Benny's 2x180. You could get 6 extra shelves, of course, but you couldn't install them easily, because Billy doesn't have wholes for the shelf-pins drilled throughout but only in certain segments. My "400" was a purely theoretical number. I have them in white, too... they're no eye-sores but nothing more than you can expect from low-end Ikea junk. 

Oh, I see. Thanks! 2 Bennos it is!! 

[The new erato]

How difficult is it to make extra shelving for Billy? One standard issue 22 cm wide (I think) board, cut, hammer inn four nails, done. Or one standard issue Billy shelf (at thrice the price), hammer inn four nails, done. I do it all the time.

[Que]

I actually like the extra depth of the Billy - handy for small listening piles.

Plus I do not like a large row of "walls". I have three Billys of 80 cm next to each other, that would be the equivalent of twelve Benno's! And the lager shelves make it much easier to shift CD's.

The placing of extra shelves indeed requires driling exta holes but is not too much hassle IMO.

Q

[The new erato]

I actually like the extra depth of the Billy - handy for small listening piles.

Plus I do not like a large row of "walls". I have three Billys of 80 cm, that would be the equivalent of twelve Benno's! And the lager shelves make it much easier to shift CD's.

The placing of extra shelves indeed requires driling exta holes but is not too much hassle IMO.

Q

I just hammer four nails in. No hassle. And shifting of CDs is a good point, as my collection grows I need to do it all the time. With Benno that would be a real pain.

[jlaurson]

I actually like the extra depth of the Billy - handy for small listening piles.

Plus I do not like a large row of "walls". I have three Billys of 80 cm next to each other, that would be the equivalent of twelve Benno's! And the lager shelves make it much easier to shift CD's.
The placing of extra shelves indeed requires driling exta holes but is not too much hassle IMO.

Good points. Especially since with 12 Bennos, the space lost through extra 'double-walls' would be much more significant than with two units. But did you actually end up with 11 shelves per Billy?

[Que]

Good points. Especially since with 12 Bennos, the space lost through extra 'double-walls' would be much more significant than with two units. But did you actually end up with 11 shelves per Billy?

I use 8 shelves per Billy for CD's. Placing CD's at the bottom end proved very inconvenient when going through my collection - I like to browse!  So I have books & DVDs on the lowest shelves - another advantage: combined storage or multi-purpose instead of single purpose. Using a normal book case like a Billy makes it possible to change the way you use it over time, as indeed I have done myself. I have a 4th Billy against another wall.

Q

[George]

Thanks again, guys! I got the two Benno's today (I went with the Birch), assembled them and fastened the top rear of each to the wall. They look great and fit perfectly in my small little corner. I have taken a photo to show you guys the results:

[jlaurson]

Thanks again, guys! I got the two Benno's today (I went with the Birch), assembled them and fastened the top rear of each to the wall. They look great and fit perfectly in my small little corner. I have taken a photo to show you guys the results:

Nice job, indeed. And I think they look better in birch than in white. So at least you have found room for all your [enter one composer of choice] CDs.

[Lethevich]

I use 8 shelves per Billy for CD's. Placing CD's at the bottom end proved very inconvenient when going through my collection - I like to browse!  So I have books & DVDs on the lowest shelves

Hehe, he too! (my opera DVDs)

[George]

Nice job, indeed. And I think they look better in birch than in white.

Thanks, I agree that the birch looks a lot nicer. The floor model at the store in white looked cheap, it really doesn't stand up well. The other colors looked brand new, but the white was all banged up, with black marks, etc. Plus, I figure that the white on my wall is likely a different shade the one on the rack and will cause the case to stand out too much. The whole point for me in choosing white was only for the rack to blend in.

So at least you have found room for all your [enter one composer of choice] CDs.

Actually, starting at the top of the rack, I have all of my historical CDs, then my Richter CDs, then recital CDs/Box sets by various pianists, then recital piano/violin/cello concerto CDs/Box sets. I have left enough room for expansion as well.

[jlaurson]

Actually, starting at the top of the rack, I have all of my historical CDs, then my Richter CDs, then recital CDs/Box sets by various pianists, then recital piano/violin/cello concerto CDs/Box sets. I have left enough room for expansion as well.

The sad thing is: I know exactly what you have in your collection now, just from looking at a blurry photo of the spines of your collection.
That's record-store-work-related damage. (I can also tell the quality of a Beethoven performance by the feel of its plastic case, btw., but that's a different thread.  )

[Bulldog]

Actually, starting at the top of the rack, I have all of my historical CDs, then my Richter CDs, then recital CDs/Box sets by various pianists, then recital piano/violin/cello concerto CDs/Box sets. I have left enough room for expansion as well.

I never gave any thought to arranging my collection in the above manner.  When I get an historical recording, I put it in the composer's category; Chopin is Chopin no matter how old the performance.  Same with performing artists.  However, I do have a "multiple composers" storage category, but it's rather minimal since I have little interest in recital discs.  My main concern is where Bach resides (after Bacewicz, before Bainton).

[George]

I never gave any thought to arranging my collection in the above manner. 

Part of the reason I organize the historical/recital CDs this way is because I can't put all of my CDs in the same area. Some are under the bed, some in a bookcase, some on a rack in the kitchen, some on a rack in the hall and some in the corner you see pictured. So I have separate sections that fit in each space.

I actually like having the historical separate, as I am not always in the mood for historical sound and this way it's easy to avoid the older CDs if I want to.

[Bulldog]

Part of the reason I organize the historical/recital CDs this way is because I can't put all of my CDs in the same area. Some are under the bed, some in a bookcase, some on a rack in the kitchen, some on a rack in the hall and some in the corner you see pictured. So I have separate sections that fit in each space.

I actually like having the historical separate, as I am not always in the mood for historical sound and this way it's easy to avoid the older CDs if I want to.

Right.  Each of us needs to store our products according to our musical buying preferences and storage areas.  But I can't go with "under the bed", because my white sheppard, General Jackson, sheds like crazy on a daily basis.   

[George]

Right.  Each of us needs to store our products according to our musical buying preferences and storage areas.  But I can't go with "under the bed", because my white sheppard, General Jackson, sheds like crazy on a daily basis.   

Yeah, that would be a mess. 

[The new erato]

Right.  Each of us needs to store our products according to our musical buying preferences and storage areas.  But I can't go with "under the bed", because my white sheppard, General Jackson, sheds like crazy on a daily basis.   

Get a bulldog instead!

[King Karajan]

I rip every CD onto my i-pod and back it all up on 2 external hard drives. I box all my discs and have them in the garage. If the mood strikes I have them all in alphabetical order and I'll get one to drop into my player. But I do like the idea of droping them all into a hard drive/CD player which holds thousands of discs and orders them all for you. I think these units are fairly pricey though.