“The ability to effortlessly digitize the CDs, and then properly catalog, search and listen to my digitized music is the end goal.”
I chose Aurender ACS100 for its superb library management and expandable storage. I wanted to steer clear of laptop/desktop in my day to day use. There isn’t anything else that comes close to what Aurender offers in terms of ease and convenience. All you need is a iPad to run ACS Manager app. App experience is the most critical part of managing and curating digital content and there is none better than ACS Manager. Take a test drive and decide for yourself.
I recently tried Zen Mini with 1TB storage to see how it stacks against my ACS100. All it took was few hours of ripping and playback with Zen to see how much superior my ACS100 was as a content server.
I am not aware of any server that will also play SACD discs. These are two different techs. I suggest you hang on to Jay’s Audio player for SACD playback.