- IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 1901, HomePlug AV
- 1 x 10/100Mbps RJ-45
- Up to 200Mbps
- Window 8 compatible
Play that Funky Music, Geek Boy
06/08/2013
This review is from: Netgear Powerline AV 200Mbps Pass Thru + USB Port (XAUB2511)
Pros:
Let me preface this review by saying that I'm gonna ignore the Newegg “Pros and Cons” conventions and am just gonna freestyle it, so you (dear reader) also please feel free to ignore the pre-inserted stuff and just read along. In other words, what you see written under the “Pros” or “Cons” ain't necessarily so – pros or cons, that is.
Enough baloney, enough with the small talk, enough foreplay, to heck with the preliminaries, so let's dive right in:
***What is it?***
Although utilizing the electrical wiring of your house (for network cabling) may sound like some kinda dubious junk that you'd find being advertised by some loudmouthed Australian jerk on a 2am infomercial, this product actually works extremely well. Rest assured, it IS a proven technology.
***What do you get?***
When you excitedly rip open your box (like I did) you'll find (quantity in parentheses):
(1) XAV1601 POWERLINE ADAPTER – this plugs into your wall power outlet, and connects to your network (router, switch, etc.)
Dimensions 4 1/8” tall x 2 1/4” wide x 2 1/8” thick (not counting electrical prongs)
(1) XAU2511 POWERLINE ADAPTER – this plugs into a separate wall outlet and acts the “receiving” adapter. This is where you will plug your printer, PC speakers, or hard drive
Dimensions 5 1/8” tall x 2 3/8” wide x 1 1/2” thick (not counting electrical prongs)
(2) ETHERNET CABLES, 78” long (nice, finally some included cables of a sufficient length. Thanks, Netgear)
(1) USB to AUDIO CABLE, 72” long (DON'T LOSE THIS!)
(1) SOFTWARE CD
Cons:
***How well does it work?***
The product claims to work as a music extender, an Ethernet adapter, a USB printer adapter, and finally, a USB hard drive adapter. So, does it do any (or all) that it claims?
A) Music Extender: I tried it with both 2.0 and 2.1 powered speakers. Both performed flawlessly. Kinda amazed me, really. You simply plug the male mini-jack from the speakers into the female mini-jack adapter, connect up with a mouse click (using the supplied software) and you're good to go. I also – just for the heck of it – tried this with a usb-powered sound card and a 5.1 setup. Gave me the dreaded “blue screen of death,” which, by the way, was a first for me with windows 7. Eh, the product made no claims to work with such a setup, so no eggs can be deducted. Still, instinct tells me that this might even work with some tinkering. Conclusion? A+ on the music extender (PS: Make sure the volume controls on your speakers are turned down – unless, of course, you wanna scare the @*$@*Y$! outta yourself like I did.)
B) Ethernet adapter: Really nothing needed here but to plug your ethernet cable into both adapters. Transferred a 7.5 Gig .iso file at approx 6.25 MB/second, compared to 6.55 MB/second from a wireless N setup. Conclusion? Not the fastest, but secure and works fine.
C) USB Printer: Tried it on an old Lexmark printer that has never networked well. Works just dandy with this setup, though. Conclusion? Works for me just the same as if it was hooked up directly to the printer.
D) USB hard drive adapter: Well, phooey – someone “borrowed” my USB hard drive a few months ago and it has never found its way back (let this be a lesson, kiddies). OK, fine, I'll try the next best thing, a USB thumb drive. Accessed as expected (using the supplied software), so nothing really exciting, but no complaints here either.
Final Conclusion? The products does everything that it says that it does, and it does it well. Just make sure that you reboot your computer after any software drive installs, and you may also have to reboot your router\modem after initial adapter installs. I had to.
Overall Review:
***How did I come up with my final ratings?***
Although I found this to be a VERY difficult product to rate (due to its “niche” nature), I finally concluded that since it does everything that it claims to do, that the only thing to consider (regarding the final rating) would be the price. Currently it can be had for under 90 bucks with rebate, and at this price I would consider this a 5-star product. It's really the Swiss Army Knife of networking. While it's not something that you might use every day, it IS something that's gonna come in darned handy at some time or another, especially if you're a geek like me.
If you're still not convinced, I urge you to go to the Netgear website and download the owner's manual to see what you're getting (and getting into). It's available in the ever-popular .pdf format.
To do so (once on the Netgear web page):
Support → Support or Home Products → in the “search for products” box type “XAUB2511” → download to your heart's content
I sincerely hope that this review helps someone, somewhere, at some time. Thanks!
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- Timothy R.
-
EggXpert
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Owned For:
1 week to 1 month
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