As it turns out, my initial success was a fluke. I never accessed the Music Vault directly but via my DLink router (showing up as 'SlimServer' rather than 'MusicVault' on the Transporter). I knew I had a problem when CDs I'd just ripped didn't show up. I then called Neal and he correctly diagnosed that the Vault wasn't yet part of my WorkGroup (I'd not gotten those instructions initially).
When I reconfigured my PC accordingly, the Transporter recognized the Music Vault but it still cannot be accessed through 'My Network Places' on my computer. I don't have authorization. (btw, to even get to that place required disabling my FireWall).
This morning the Transporter won't assign an IP address to the Vault and can't communicate with it.
Neal is stumped and consulting with his partner who seems to be more of a computer expert. The reason I'm posting this is simply this:
The Transporter and Vault are network devices and have to interface with your hard-wired or wireless network to operate as intended. You *could* encounter issues during the initial setup. If so, you might need tech support. Whether Neal is qualified to provide it remains to be seen. To get my network set up and running on my PC and two laptops, I had to pay a local computer expert from the UK whom it took a good hour and plenty of curses until everything was configured properly. I personally could not have done it. Audiophiles who are computer savvy might be fine but those who aren't *could* run into issues they cannot solve themselves. If they just pertain to the Transporter, you've got Slim Devices to turn to for Tech Support.
Where it concerns the Vault, it'll be Sound Science. On that front, I'm not sure yet whether Neal is qualified enough (I doubt it) to handle
all scenarios. If so, Sound Science needs to establish some kind of optional Tech Support line (i.e. get a true computer expert involved).
Alert 2: If the Vault, through FreeDB, doesn't recognize a CD, it won't rip it. However, it won't spit it back out to let you know it as a reject. It'll keep it indefinitely until you finally figure out it couldn't be a slow read and eject it manually. My reject rate right now is 50%. Granted, these aren't mainstream CDs but I don't listen to mainstream CDs.
My Olive Symphony rips anything even without tags. The rationale for why the Vault doesn't is "to keep it simple".
That assumes you don't have a keyboard and monitor. But you have.
1/ You cannot set up the Vault without your PC in the first place (that work group configuration).
2/ You cannot back up the Vault without your PC.
Clearly, to operate the Vault requires the use of your PC - initially for setup, then as ongoing maintenance to back up your growing archives. This being the case, the Vault has a keyboard and mouse and monitor available which means, it should rip anything regardless of tags and let you add those not automatically added by hand. On that front, I think it's a design flaw of the Vault to refuse ripping unrecognized CDs.
Once this chapter is concluded (getting the Vault to properly interface or not), I'll amend that page of the review. Until then, I wanted to notify prospective buyers that at least in my case, it's not all roses and bloom after all but plenty of thorns
