New Ikea storage unit great for LP's!
Desiring new racks for my LP’s, and hearing that the Ikea Kallax was popular with collectors, I went to the Ikea in my new city to check it out. I found the Kallax to have one enticing quality: very large capacity for very little money. Other than that, it didn’t fulfill my desires. At 15-3/4" deep, LP’s are too far from the front edge of the rack. Even worse, the rack is open on the backside, having no rear panel! It is meant to be a room divider, not an LP rack or bookcase. I’m guessing owners don’t mind, as the rack will usually be placed up against a wall, that wall then acting as a rear panel. But I want my LP’s to be inside an enclosed structure, not an open one, if for no other reason than to keep dust away from the LP cover opening. The lack of a rear panel is also at least partially responsible for another problem with the rack: it is not very structurally stiff and strong, being a little wobbly, able to move side-to-side. Ikea has other similar racks---the Bitrade, Valje, and Nornas, but they too fell short of my requirements.
So I kept looking. There are some fine LP racks out there, but I consider the prices ridiculous. Last night I went onto the Ikea website, again looking at their storage units. There was a brand new one named EKET pictured, and it looked like it might fit the bill, so today I went to Ikea to have a look. I do believe I have found my new LP racks! The EKET comes in several different sizes, from a single 13-3/4" cube to a 4-cubicle box. The 4-cubicle version measures 27-1/2" x 27-1/2" x 13-3/4" deep exterior, each cubicle having interior dimensions of 12-7/8" tall, 12-7/8" wide, and 13" deep, perfect for LP’s. Priced at only $50, the EKET 4-cube model provides over four linear feet of LP storage. And it has a back panel! It is also considerable more stiff than the Kallax, which gives me piece of mind. There are a couple of accessory options, including a set of four adjustable feet ($5!) and a 4" base platform, also height-adjustable ($15). Another is a set of screw-on clips which hold multiple units together if they are stacked one atop another. Three of the racks and a base platform end up being 86-1/2" (7’ 2-1/2") tall, perfect for me.
The Ikea EKET is best LP storage deal I have found, so if you have enough LP’s to make their storage an economic concern, check it out. It will leave you more dough for the LP’s themselves!
I ordered these in a custom Lava Orange High Gloss. http://www.simplewoodgoods.com/record-storage-cube/ I will report back once received. I HATE IKEA. Pure Garbage chipboard crap. |
That looks REALLY nice, shadorne. The problem is each cube is $89, so a cube of four costs $356. The 4-cubicle EKET is $50. I bought nine EKET for $450; the comparable Simple Woods cubes would be $3204! That will buy a lot of LP’s. Yep, you're right, Ikea is junk, but I choose to spend the money saved on cheap LP storage instead on the Trans-Fi Terminator Arm I just ordered, and an LP flattener, and a diy ultrasonic record cleaner, not to mention more LP's! has2be, your project for your friend also sounds fantastic. You’re quite a pal! The 4 x 4 Kallax is the best LP storage deal around---sixteen approximately 13" cubicles for $109! |
Thanks, bdp24. He bought 4 of the single 4 cube units at 39 a piece on sale so 156 , plus the 140 dollar sheet of ply and I think he paid 170 for the 10 Herbies threaded gliders plus some edge veneer and a few small costs for finish etc.. All in it was just over 550 bucks to store all his records and cd's plus a solid foundation well isolated from floor vibration for his system and speakers. His idea to use 4 single units and tying them all to one length of solid ply at the 16 bolt points of the kallax units top and bottom made it sturdy enough to jump up and down on, literally. We both stood on it holding his TV when we mounted it to the wall bracket as well as the shelves for his cd's . Considering he couldn't buy four of those nice looking units Shadorne posted to only hold 280 albums for the same price vs storing 800 albums, supporting a nice hefty system and about 300 cd's on wall shelves, and look good while actually adding good isolation and some dampening from the floor.....no brainer, my friends idea was solid, inexpensive and works with style. I may of had the tools and the ability but it takes a good, simple solid idea to get results that good and so absurdly, reasonably priced. I'm not a fan of chipboard myself either, Shadorne, at all. When I built my home, plywood sheeting on the roof and floors, no mdf or chipboard kitchen cabinets or mdf moulding. All solid hardwood faces, real wood void free veneered Baltic ply for cabinets and natural birch ply for drawers and hardwood casing and trim. Furniture I prefer and build with real solids and ply veneers . But this is one instance, I simply can't argue the amount of time, money and effort it saved to McGiver inexpensive Ikea units and marry them with the strength of 3/4 quality ply , with a nice real wood, maple one sided veneer , on top of a result that looks so good, is rock solid and functions so well as a rack and album storage . Its nice to see that different choices are out there for everyone's different needs and reasoning. That's healthy to have choices to suit individual, needs, wants and reasoning. |
