Help !

big_greg 7-23-2019
From what I’ve read, it is possible to backup to an external hard drive, however it appears the music is stored in a proprietary format:

"The ext4 storage format is the same format that the Vault uses to store your data. It will not appear on most conventional Mac and Windows PC’s."

You can also use the Vault as a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device and have your files show up on your computer - https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/articles/200387457-Backing-Up-Your-Vault

A minor point but one that may be of interest to Vault users:

Ext4 is not a proprietary format, but rather is a file system used by Linux operating system software (as opposed, for example, to the NTFS file system that is used by Windows, or the FAT32 file system that can be used by various operating systems). Presumably Ext4 is used because the Bluesound products run Linux internally.

The reason I mention this is to point out that third party programs are available which can provide Windows PCs and Macs with the ability to read and write Ext4 files. Paragon Software is a leading maker of such programs:

https://www.paragon-software.com/home/linuxfs-windows/

https://www.paragon-software.com/home/extfs-mac/

Regards,
-- Al

So many foolish statements made in this thread.
1)  backup your data to the same disk drive if you buy a big enough disk, NAS or anything else. Sorry but this is idiotic. If your NAS fails, everything is gone. Even if you use something like a Drobo box or a RAID setup, always backup this data to another external disk. I worked with multi-million $$$ disk subsystems using RAID and you always backup to another disk. 
2) legally, you can’t copy something, keep the copy, and then give the original away or sell it. You paid for 1 cd. You copy it and the sell/give the original, now you have 2 copies.

Does anyone have experience with a CD ripping appliance that can directly store to a NAS server via a wired network connection? 

Acronova Nimbie USB 3.0 Blu-ray/CD/DVD AutoLoader

https://www.amazon.com/Acronova-Nimbie-Blu-ray-AutoLoader-NB21-BR/dp/B005CAMVKU

Geez...I guess I'm a real criminal. I've been burning CD's and giving copies to friends for years without really giving it a thought. How many of us here consider that a really bad thing to do?