chuckles304 wrote:

During a recent house renovation I became the proud owner of a ReQuest F3 server. I have never heard of them before nor am I familiar with its use. Anybody have any experience with this brand? Also, anybody willing to give me a Cliffsnotes explanation of what this thing does? It has a CD drive so I'm assuming at a minimum it plays CDs.....

It is designed to extend your system into other room or even other homes.

You can see a detailed discussion at www.avrev.com

commsysman wrote:

chuckles304 wrote:

During a recent house renovation I became the proud owner of a ReQuest F3 server. I have never heard of them before nor am I familiar with its use. Anybody have any experience with this brand? Also, anybody willing to give me a Cliffsnotes explanation of what this thing does? It has a CD drive so I'm assuming at a minimum it plays CDs.....

It is designed to extend your system into other room or even other homes.

You can see a detailed discussion at www.avrev.com

(under Home Theater Media Servers)

chuckles304 wrote:

Given my system is laptop to dac to receiver there's no logical place to include the F3 nor another item it could replace, if I understand correctly?

All the info you need to learn about it is located here:
http://www.request.com/products/f3.asp

I recommend that you leapfrog to the other links as well - you'll come across this quick start guide that depicts how it fits within your setup:
http://www.request.com/documents/Quickstart%20-%20F3r1.pdf

Also look at sister site S&V's review for a similar product and sample use cases:
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/request-f2-media-server-system

IF storage is an issue for you and/or you want to subtract the laptop from your setup, then you might want to consider incorporating it. Also, if you have other compatible clients within your home to which you wish to stream media, it could prove somewhat useful.

You could also search to see if anyone else has perhaps installed another version of Linux plus media server software.

What's the make/model of your receiver?

chuckles304 wrote:

If I'm not mistaken what I should look for to replace my laptop (if I ever want to) is one of those multiple-thousand dollar music servers, right?

While you are more than welcome to splurge on something like a Bluesound, you certainly don't have to.

You could get yourself a NAS with media server features. I personally use a Synology DS214play and stream all sorts of content to various clients throughout the house, via DLNA. (DLNA because scAirPlay downsamples anything above 24/96.)

Your T757 doesn't have any network connectivity, but you could certainly use other network-capable components to stream your media to it.

chuckles304 wrote:

As I understand them a media server is just an audiophile-grade laptop (or even a giant audiophile-grade iPod) but without all the extraneous noisy circuitry.

Mostly FALSE.

I am CMA'ing with "mostly" because there are way more hardware configurations than an "audiophile-grade laptop" that offer media server features. Wiki actually has a fairly decent intro on the concept of a media server:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_server
(NOTE: I think you are seeking a MUSIC server, so if you want just a nominal understanding of a MEDIA server, you can stop reading after the first sentence.)

Brief soapbox comment:
"Audiophile" and "iPod" bond together as well as oil and water -- don't let me see you do that again! Seriously though, ever wonder why Apple doesn't advertise in the audiophile community? Or even market its delivery stream -- either in whole or in part -- to be of superior SQ??

chuckles304 wrote:

So basically I'm asking for a device to store lossless files and feed them to my DAC/receiver.

A good starting point would be to research the Bluesound Vault 2. (I have not auditioned one, but various reviews *seem* to make it out as a nice balance of features, SQ, and price.)

chuckles304 wrote:

I guess at this point my questions are how would I transfer my music library from my craptop to a server, and what manufacturers should I look at in the sub $2k range?

Perhaps there is a selection that meets your MUSIC server use cases from this list:
http://www.audiostream.com/category/music-server-reviews

Happy listening!

chuckles304 wrote:

My audiophile-grade laptop comment should have been in reference to a music server, not media server. It may be worth pursuing, in lieu of an expensive music/media server, a copy of Foobar. While that would not solve the underlying problem of a craptop as a source I imagine it will alleviate it to some degree. Otherwise I guess I should be looking for a "music server".

My use of the term "iPod" was in reference to the fact that its purpose is to store and play media. I am in no way an Apple fan or defender, nor do I necessarily enjoy using iTunes as my playback software. Furthermore, just to confound your oil and water statement, both Benjamin Moore and Behr (paint companies) now market "oil modified waterborne paint" for interior use. I wouldn't use it if you gave it to me for free.

If you're up to task, a seasoned laptop can certainly be repurposed for media (and music) server duties. This means you'd be able to stream your MP3, WMA, AAC, and even high-resolution FLAC and WAV. All you need to do is install and configure a compatible server solution on the laptop, and then you should be able to enjoy your content through via various clients. Check out this list of media servers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_UPnP_AV_media_servers

(FWIW, I've tried several of them but have found myself using Universal Media Server for the last 6 years. 100% free.)

...BUT, if you're willing to go through that, then you may as well fire up the F3. As I said earlier in the thread, IF storage is an issue for you and/or you want to subtract the laptop from your setup, then you might want to consider incorporating it. I must reiterate, that anything "server" requires network connectivity and a capable source(s) and client(s).

P.S. If you're REALLY up to task, look in to replacing the OS of either the laptop or F3 with Audiophile Linux:
http://www.ap-linux.com/about/

(Yes, you'd be replacing the operating system.)

chuckles304 wrote:

Ok, so no matter what I need an internet connection, if I'm going to use a server. What I'm now thinking is maybe sell the F3 and get Foobar or Universal Media Server like you mentioned. Any idea what an F3 is worth? I can't honestly say that anything sounds terrible right now, it's more like a bit of that infamous curiosity to hear "a little improvement". Like I said a while back, I have to assume there will be some noticeable difference between my old laptop and a purpose-built server. I definitely don't want to swap the OS since I also use this laptop for running my Etsy business. Part of the reason I'm shying away from using the thing is I'm hearing they can be tricky to set up without a company tech.

For the record, not once have I used the term "internet connection."

“Network connection” does not necessarily mean “internet connection.” (It is possible to run a standalone server on a network that is NOT connected to the internet.) “Network connection” and “internet connection” are not interchangeable terms. Ever.

With respect to secondary market value of the F3, look it up on either eBay or Audiogon, or use your preferred search engine.

The basic method is to determine your requirements, research the software options that meet those requirements, and then determine the hardware profiles that are at least adequately capable of supporting the desired software.

Right now, it isn’t clear to me whether you seek a media player, media server, or something that can function as both -- please state what it is that you are trying to accomplish. To do this, I recommend considering your use cases before making any purchases or committing to any configurations. (That's another part of the fun in this hobby.) In other words, the better you define your desired results, the better the system design to meet those needs/wants. The more specific you are, the better focus you’ll have to determine any future purchases and/or (re)configurations. On the flip side, the better recommendations you’ll receive because of being specific.

(As an example, take a look at lardog’s journey here:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/all-audio-resolutions-sound-same
I recommend starting with bierfeldt’s comment on April 12th, and then continue reading the ensuing comments.)

chuckles304 wrote:

I stated earlier what I'm looking for: an audiophile-quality device that can store digital music files and send them to an outboard DAC, similar to the PC based setup I have now only minus the extraneous circuitry and noisy laptop power. No other bells or whistles are necessary. That said, a definite plus would be a USB output. As I said I'm shying away from the F3 primarily because of the apparent complexities related to setting it up. If by "network connection" you mean a simple PC-to-server connection that's fine, and I understand that that's not synonymous with "internet connection".

...it is:
http://www.audiostream.com/content/bluesound-vault-2

First read about it here:
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/november-2016-new-gear

Product page here:
http://nadelectronics.com/products/masters-series/M50.2-Digital-Music-Player