Size and capacity
How many records fit?
A column one compartment high holds around 140 records. Every extra compartment adds about 60 per column. So four high and three wide holds roughly 960, and the largest standard size, five high and five wide, around 1,900. Turn the records sideways and an open compartment takes about 80 instead of 60. The specifications on each product page show the exact number for the size you selected. Not sure? Pick your number of records and the shop shows the sizes that fit, or see the full capacity table.
What goes in the base?
Around 80 records spine-out, or your box sets. A magnetic panel closes it. There are no drawers and no hinged doors.
Do you make a cabinet for 7-inch singles?
On request. The shop is made for 12-inch records, but we can make a version for singles. Write to info@ophon.eu and tell us how many you have.
Will it fit through my door?
Yes. Every column ships flat in its own box, about 41 cm wide and 13 to 16 cm thick, and is built in the room where it will stand. The length of the box depends on the height of the column: about 92 cm for one compartment high, up to about 2.52 m for five high. A five-high box weighs around 46 kg in birch plywood and 56 kg spray-painted, so carry that one with two people. A tight turn in the stairs is the only thing worth measuring before you order.
Can I put my turntable on top?
Yes, on at least two columns side by side at the same height, one or two compartments high. One compartment high puts the top at 89 cm, a comfortable working height. Two columns side by side give room for a full-size deck. A dust cover needs clearance behind the cabinet to open. Not sure about your deck? Send us the make and model and we will tell you straight.
Material and colour
Can I get any colour?
Birch plywood comes with white or black faces, with the ply edge visible. The spray-painted version is sprayed edge to edge, so no wood shows anywhere. It comes in white (RAL 9010), black (RAL 9005) or any other RAL Classic colour at the same price, in satin or matte: choose Custom RAL colour on the product page and pick it from the colour chart.
Can you match a colour that is not a RAL colour?
No. We spray in RAL Classic colours only. Pick the RAL Classic colour closest to what you have in mind.
Can I get a gloss finish?
No. Spray-painted cabinets come in satin or matte.
Can I get it in another material, such as oak, walnut or natural birch?
Not at the moment. The Coverfront comes in birch plywood with white or black faces, and in spray-painted medium-density fibreboard. Other materials may follow later.
Can you send me a colour or material sample?
No, we do not send samples. For a RAL colour, look at a physical RAL chart, because a screen is never exact. To see the materials in a real room, look at Other people's rooms, or write to us and we will send photos of the finish you are considering.
Shape, and adding to it later
Can I put columns of different heights together?
Yes, in the configurator. Steps, a gap for a window, a pyramid: it is the same element in a different arrangement. Shapes that are not in the shop are made to order, and because they are made for you, the 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to them.
My wall is wider than five columns. Possible?
Yes. Wider walls are the same elements repeated, so you put them together in the configurator.
Can I add columns later?
Yes. Order a column now and add another later; it is the same element, so it lines up. Plenty of people start two wide and extend. The plinth along the bottom does need replacing with a longer one when you extend, so write to us before you order and we will tell you what you need.
Can I add a column to a cabinet I bought from ophon.nl?
That depends on the year you bought it, because details have changed over the years. Write to info@ophon.eu with a photo and roughly when you bought it, and we will tell you whether a new column lines up.
Can I make my cabinet taller later?
Not without replacing the side and end panels, so plan the height you want from the start. Adding columns next to it is easy.
Where it stands
Do I need to fix it to the wall?
No. The feet are adjustable: set the front ones a little higher so the cabinet tilts slightly backwards, and the weight of the records rests towards the wall. A lip at the front of every compartment holds the first sleeve.
My floor is not level. Is that a problem?
Usually not. Every base stands on adjustable feet, so you level it before you build on top. If your floor slopes a lot, send us a photo with a spirit level on it and we will tell you whether it works.
Your records in a Coverfront
How do I organise my records in a Coverfront?
Every compartment is its own small crate of around 60 records, so most owners give each compartment a theme: a genre, a period, a letter range, or simply what is new. Piet Hein, who designed the cabinet, does not sort alphabetically. He keeps one category per compartment, goes to the right one and flips through it there. Alphabetical works too: Johan has small letter labels on the shelf edges, A, B, E to F, and keeps each range in its own compartment. Either way, leave a little room in every compartment, so a new record does not mean shifting everything along. And the sleeve at the front is yours to choose: the one you are playing this week, or just the best cover in the stack.
Do my records need outer sleeves?
They do not have to, but we recommend them. A thin clear plastic outer sleeve keeps dust and fingerprints off the cover and stops the edges wearing as you flip through. It also protects the sleeve that faces the room. Keep that one out of direct sunlight, which fades printed covers over time.
Ordering and delivery
How fast is delivery?
The delivery time shown on the product page is the one that applies to your order: it is worked out from what is actually on the shelf at that moment, for the size and finish you picked. Spray-painted cabinets are painted to order and ship within 7 working weeks. If the parts are not in stock, your cabinet is made for you and that takes about six working weeks. The shipping policy explains how it works.
What does shipping cost?
One flat rate per order, whatever the size of the cabinet: €49 in the Netherlands, €89 to most EU countries, €149 to Cyprus and Malta. Every column ships in its own box, tracked and insured.
Do you ship outside the European Union?
For now we ship within the European Union. The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway will follow. Anywhere else, write to info@ophon.eu with your address and the size you want and we will quote the whole thing, including an estimate of the import charges, which you pay to the carrier on delivery.
I am buying for my business in another EU country. Can I buy without VAT?
Yes. Add your VAT number to your account before you order. Once it is approved, VAT is taken off at checkout (reverse charge).
Can I come and see one?
No, and we would rather say so plainly than have you drive over for nothing. There is no shop and no showroom. The address on our contact page is our office and postal address, not a place to visit or collect an order. If you are stuck between two colours or between birch plywood and spray-painted, write to us and we will talk it through. What comes closest to seeing one is Other people's rooms: fifty-eight cabinets in the homes of the people who own them.
Assembly
Do I assemble it myself?
Yes. Everything is pre-drilled and numbered and ordinary tools are enough: a drill-driver, two Allen keys, a spirit level and a tape measure. It also means the cabinet ships flat, which is why it arrives undamaged. See assembly or the assembly video (an earlier version, so a few small details differ), and how it works for the cabinet itself.
How long does it take?
Most people need one to two hours for an average arrangement, most of it on levelling the bases. After that you build column by column and bolt the columns together.
After you order
Can I change my mind after ordering?
Fourteen days from delivery, no reason needed, if you bought as a consumer in the European Union. That includes a cabinet sprayed in a RAL colour of your choice. Only work built to your own drawing, or in a size that is not in this shop, is excluded, because it is made for you and cannot be sold to anyone else. Return shipping is at your own cost, and returns do not go to our office address: write to us first and we will tell you where to send it. The full conditions are in our refund policy.
What if something is wrong with it?
That is a different thing from changing your mind. You have the statutory guarantee that the cabinet is what you could reasonably expect, for at least two years from delivery and in practice a good deal longer. If it is not, we repair or replace it at no cost to you. Anything damaged in transit or missing from the box is not a return either: send a photo and we fix it.