Atlantic Elite XL Media Storage Cabinet – Protect & Organize Prized Music, Movie, Video Games, Collectables & Memorabilia Collections, PN 38408117 in Black

This works great for storing all my ceramic glazes. You will need some tools - a regular screwdriver and a Phillips head (electric or battery helps). The holes are predrilled pretty loosely, but ultimately the backing stabilizes everything. According to the instructions, they have you assemble the top section first. However, it would be much easier to assemble the base first, so you can see that the backing on the base extends 3/8 of an inch above the edge, and you have to position the backing on the top piece that much higher so it will fit properly. Other than having to redo the top backing a couple of times to make this work, I didn't have any problem assembling it by myself, and I'm older than dirt. If I can do it, anyone can.

Prior to this cabinet/shelf purchase, I stored my physical media on deeper bookshelves 2 rows deep. This was always frustrating because I had to remove the front row to get to the back row... and I tended to forget what I even had stored in the back row when trying to search for a movie to watch or lend. I decided to upgrade to this media cabinet/shelf even though it was larger than I really wanted... it has been great! Installation went smoothly and it feels solid afterward. The only change that I made is that instead of attaching the wall anchors (included!) on the upper right/left sides... I decided to attach them on the very top, centering with one on the right and left. It hides the anchors better in my opinion and had more wiggle room to actually find studs for more re-enforcement. I pre-drilled short holes to give the screws an easier time. There are pre-drilled holes on the sides for the side-anchors for the same reason. Even though I didn't use them, you can't really see the holes. I may end up getting a second one as I never realized how easy the proper shelving and display of movies make for browsing. It's no longer a pain to quickly browse and gravitate toward a title to watch.

I'm no stranger to assembling flat pack furniture. This item was harder than average. Not necessarily due to lack of clarity in instructions, which I didn't entirely follow, but because the thing is so huge that until it's fully assembled, it's not sturdy AT ALL. Trying to move or flip the structure as you're building it is treacherous and you're risking breaking the cam locks. The dowels are useless (why are flat pack furniture dowels always either too large and keep you from connecting pieces, or they're too small and constantly falling out??)All the wood pieces were labeled, all hardware was present. The nails for attaching the backing were super low-quality and several of them were lacking in essential qualities that make something a nail (such as a point at one end and a head at the other, and a straight shaft in between.) No extras were included, but luckily I have spares!As far as overall quality goes, I'd say it is about what I expected for the price and that it was probably shipped through multiple distributors of one sort or another. There was a small ding on one board but it isn't noticeable unless you look very closely, and know where to look. There was probably close to the minimum amount of crumbly, statically charged Styrofoam used in packing.It could have a more versatile design, and that would be nice, because the holes for pegs to place shelves on aren't spaced terribly closely together, nor do they span the entire height of the unit. Your uppermost shelf can only be so close to the top of this; your lower-most shelf can only be so low. This is also true of the shelves immediately below and above the solid middle--it is essentially one unit above that and one unit below it, although they cannot function independently.And this is why despite the impressive storage numbers for this item, we were only able to get about a third of our DVDs and Blu Rays onto it. Yes, we have cases that have multiple discs. We didn't want to segregate DVDs from Blu Rays, although a Blu Ray case isn't as tall and we might have been able to squeeze another layer of shelves in.Well, we own a LOT of media.If we ever purchase another similar item we might try paying more and getting something a bit sturdier. It isn't that bad, it's just frustrating to know that because of poor design and cheap hardware, proper assembly as intended isn't really a reasonable expectation.The one other thing I don't care for is that the depth of the removable shelves is so much less than the fixed shelves that DVDs in particular stick out a good bit past the shelves. About 3/4 inch, which means if you grab a DVD too hastily, you could flip the whole shelf down and out. You can't pull the case downwards at all.My advice on assembly tips is limited to this--if you're working on it with unfinished side down (which is a good idea, I think, because it often makes the backing fit much easier)...either work on bare floor or put down a huge piece of cardboard because the rough edges of the wood stuff grabs like mad. We have many area rugs for dog paw traction and had to get them all out of the way. I think any type of carpet would do similar.Oh, and one other bit--per the assemble instructions, once you've connected everything you're supposed to lie the thing on its front to put the backing on--you can't. The bottom board has a lip. It won't sit flat on the floor with that lip. We just stood it upright, facing against the wall, and kind of leaned it in to get some resistance while nailing the backing pieces on. The only way you could do this with it laid flat would be to put it on a bed or something with the lip hanging off the edge. No mention in the instructions that this would be an issue. (Like I said, I only followed them loosely.)Lastly--the box says Atlantic media tower 756. The item description says XL something? I dunno.

Some reviews say this was hard to put together or it wasn’t built sturdy, I found none of this true. It was a little time consuming to put together, it is press board, so although the instructions state you can use a drill, don’t- hand screw everything and you’ll be fine. On the backing board there is a piece for the top and bottom marked- make sure to align these as close to the top and bottom respectively or when you put the two half’s together the backing might not align correctly- it wasn’t mentioned in the instructions, and I had to trim a sliver to get a good fit. It is tall and space saving, so I highly recommend using the included anchors for sturdiness. Lastly some state the wasted smaller center shelf, remember it is a multi media center unit, so it is for cd style cases in the center, if not using cds, you’ll be forced to put your dvd/Blu-ray on their sides in this center shelf. This unit holds what the next price point is nearly twice as much, so really no complaints for the price and storage capabilities.