I've mentioned in a couple of posts in the past that for the last several years ALL of my CDs have been on 100-disc spindles and it was virtually impossible to find a particular disc when desired. This happened because one of the two 400-disc changers I was using had somehow become "corrupted" and the genres of music and the artist name was incorrect. It so frustrated me to look for SRV and only have discs from 12 other artists display…none of them SRV. So…I took all the discs out, "reset" the memory, and planned on re-loading them. As I mentioned, that was a few years ago. I haven't had time to re-do them as I wished.

I finally got all my discs off the spindles, back into the jewel cases that were stored in the attic, and into a new shelving unit that I put in the living room:

They are now all indexed (I made tabs for the alphabet) and "findable". I'm also hoping that the shelves, although a little tight to the right speaker, will break up first reflections from that side (I specifically put a shelf of odd-sized books at tweeter/midrange height. Though not as good as Auralex, it's better than a hard plaster wall!).

Anyway, I haven't had time to re-meter to see if it's helping with the acoustics nor do any critical listening. Hopefully soon.

My next step will likely be to duplicate each of my CDs onto "CD Text-enabled" discs before reloading them into the jukeboxes again. This way, I can have the best of both worlds: Jewel cases for browsing, artwork and track listings, and a copy in the jukeboxes that can't be corrupted as the track/artist info remains with the disc. I'm also going to check into the software that automatically produces a database from the discs in a megachanger as was just discussed in another thread. I checked into the software a few years ago, but I'm sure it's all different now!

I gotta tell you though, after years of having my music virtually inaccessable, I'm REALLY re-discovering my music now...and liking it a whole lot!

WOW! I've got no idea how it sounds, Mark, but it sure looks terrific! I love the piano/picture lights at the top. GREAT IDEA!

I am becoming increasingly convinced that "CDs in their original jewel cases" is the technology of the future.

I have tried a couple of times to make text-enabled copies but with no success. Please let us know how the conversion goes and what tools worked well for you...

Looks really nice to me.... I could never get a room that neat in my house.

>>I could never get a room that neat in my house.

I'm going to try a new strategy. I'm going to move into the new house, but leave pretty much everything I own back at the old house for a while. I doubt even I can make a mess in an empty house.

Great job, Mark!!

Sure should help break up reflections at that!

I agree, CDs in gewel cases is the way to go!!

(yeah,....I know, our DVDs are in a jukebox....but, that's for the Wife!!)

She also wanted me to put the radars on the arch or on a mast, but on the bookcase works well too!

Also....I CAN have my room look that neat if I work real hard at it!



.....til the kids get home from school
Rich.

I think it's really a background from a photo shoot. Probably airbrused to match with his Axioms.




No? It does look nice. How many man hours?

Looks good, Mark. I've often toyed with the idea of alphabetizing my music collection, but I suffer from a severe case of laziness.

Did you clean up the room just for the photo? I'm impressed either way.

Those shelves look very nice! I could use some of them for my 400+ CD collection!

in response to -
I'm going to move into the new house, but leave pretty much everything I own back at the old house for a while. I doubt even I can make a mess in an empty house
"we" tried this strategy but it failed miserable.

For the amount of praise I received, I'm not sure that some of you weren't under the impression that I built the shelves...which is not the case. They are IKEA "Billy" shelves (two different widths) with some CD Inserts on some of the shelves. Each insert holds 128 CDs, so I currently have storage for 768 discs. I think I'm going to buy another insert or two in case they discontinue the color...it matches my Beech Axioms pretty well. The lights are also IKEA, and though I have two on the shelving units, I bought a third to mount on top of the equipment rack. Maybe tomorrow I'll mount that light and post a photo.

The whole thing only took me an hour to assemble, but it took eight hours to match up the loose CDs with their respective Jewel Cases and alphabetize them.

And, yeah, it's typically that neat! It's only a corner of a room and we don't have kids!

Thanks for all the kind comments, though!

My rooms have corners, and we also don't have kids...

WoW Mark, I'm very impressed with your library, and very jealous!

I have IKEA CD/DVD shelves, but I have BENOs, they are adjustable for DVDs and CDs as well. I have 4 of them so far, three for my CDs and only one for DVDs, since I rent (Netflix) my movies, and buy only "must have" ones.

Yup, got four of the Bennos, too! Very versatile for DVD and/or CD storage. I need another one, but the box is just a bit too long to fit in my car!

I thought about the Bennos as well, but wanted to "break things up a little" with books as well. Also, I have 8.5' ceilings and I liked the idea of it being a little more "floor to ceiling".

Looks good Mark, I'm impressed how well the shelves match the speaker finish. I actually have exactly the same bookshelf to hold CDs & DVDs. I tried to go with a nice lighted cabinet design with frost covered front glass doors, but i've been too lazy to properly do the frosting or the lighting. And in the mean time i've filled the freaking cabinet up so now i need something bigger! It will never end!

I have tried a couple of times to make text-enabled copies but with no success. Please let us know how the conversion goes and what tools worked well for you...

Me too. Mark, please let us know if you figure this out. I'm particularly curious how to do it in Windows Media Player. Thanks.

Then again, you could rip all of your data to your hard drive and have it digital, CD-quality, and out of the dark ages. It's easy to switch CD's, do a simple shuffle, or whatever.

Maybe I should make a guide for some axiomites out there on how to rip high-quality mp3's audiophile style (and I'm not talking the rcheap mp3 ripper in iTunes).

But, nonetheless, very nice collection. That's a ridiculous amount of music right there.