What are My Options for Ripping My CD Collection ?

Sorry about that @gkelly and @foamcutter 

A Network Attached Storage (NAS) is essentially a home server. It contains at least 2 hard disk drives (HDDs), usually more.

NAS can usually be configured as RAID arrays (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). What this means is that several physical disks act as one, and your data (music) is automatically and dynamically written in more than one location (there are several RAID levels that you probably don't want me to go into).

If a standalone HDD - like for instance those USB drives plugged in streamers that folks talk about - fails, your music is gone. Poof! And HDDs will fail, it's just a question of when.

On the other hand, if a HDD fails in a RAID, the data stored on it also exists on the other HDDs, so you haven't lost anything. The NAS will send you a text or an email to inform you of the failure. If your NAS supports hot-swapping (it should), you pop in a new HDD without even powering down, and the NAS will immediately start populating the new HDD and restore the array to its previous condition.

The only drawbacks are that only half the storage is effectively usable - for example, if you have 4x 2TB HDDs in your NAS, your effective capacity is not 8TB but 4TB (the other 4TB being used for backup).

As far as which NAS to get, there is Synology and there is the rest. Something like this machine will be more than enough for most audiophiles.

Nice system.  Yeah that’s right what Innuos said, and I’d add at your system’s level don’t skimp on the USB cable.  Minimum $200  something from DH Labs, Veritas, etc. and you should be good.  Oh, and you should look at upgrading the power supply to your DAC to a decent linear power supply.  Doesn’t need to be Mearason’s that’s prolly really pricey but something from Teddy Pardo, SBooster, LHY, etc. should get the job done and be around $400 for another meaningful upgrade FWIW. 

@devinplombier  thank you for the detailed explanation and the link.  I will look into that. Eventual failure is a scary thought with all the external hard drives I have filled with years of photos and videos.

@soix  thank you, it's taken me a few years to assemble this systembut I'm pretty happy with it...except the streamer.  I appreciate your thoughts and advice. I will research better cables and an LPS for the Merason DAC.

Cheers everyone. It's 5AM and I'm off to hopefully photograph the Comet in the eastern sky. 

@soix 

Especially as, like me, you’re not a tech person and a Zen Mk3 would be a streamer upgrade along with allowing you to easily rip all your CDs and have all your music in one place I’d just do that and be done.  Life’s too short to deal with tech BS, and some things are just worth paying for IMHO.  Plus you get Innuos’ wonderful Sense app as an added bonus, and you may find with the Zen your streaming sounds good enough to not need to rip the CDs that are available to stream.  Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck. 

+1 ^

I also expect that after you rip a few CD's, and then play them back from stored FLAC files, and compare the sound with streaming directly with Qobuz via Innuos's own Sense software, that they sound too similar to worry about, and you will forgo the ripping and just stream 99% of the time. 

Alternatively this Aurender over the Innuos: 

https://www.aurenderamerica.com/en-ca/products/asc100?srsltid=AfmBOoqYBYy6tXPCgvllbb9oO82tmtATXtz1jSWabpgtB12FPOCDmOMP

@soix  and @mclinnguy good points, thank you. And thanks for the Aurender link.