Put simply, a box set is a single object that gathers multiple CDs into a package, from two to several hundred discs.

Since it's often more a curatorial tool than a standalone distributed release, the focus of a box set is hard to pin down. Some explore a genre or historical period, others an artist's discography or live performance catalog. The only real restriction imposed is the physical storage limits of a CD, since that determines the breakdown of music across discs within a box set.

Sometimes, the distinction between one disc and another is meaningless in a box set. In a four-disc greatest-hits collection, the arrangement of the tracks across discs really only reflects how much music fits on a CD. Other times, discs in a box set might reflect real album releases: in an artist's complete-albums set, each disc is its own record, with a title, year, and cover. A label chronology might give each disc a year, and a classical edition might organize hundreds of discs by composer, performer or session. Many sets mix studio albums, live recordings and bonus material. Bootlegs might contain thousands of chronological recordings spanning an artist's performing career.

In other words, "box set" describes how music was packaged, not how it's meant to be heard.

Roon treats every box set as a complete album, but clearly divided into discs. When a disc has additional context available, Roon will add it from our own metadata, your files, or any edits you make in Roon.

When a disc in a box set corresponds to a previously released album, Roon labels it as one, with that album's title, year and artwork, and a link to its other versions. Kind of Blue is still disc four of the anthology, but you'll know the content of that disc traces back to a full-fledged release. A disc that simply continues a longer program keeps its disc number. In larger box sets, you can scroll and jump by disc number, or by year when a set is organized around a chronology.

The goal is to preserve context and make it quick and easy to navigate inside these long-form albums.