D-Link DHP-701AV review: This HomePlug AV2 MIMO powerline adapter wins the speed prize

15.06.2015
If you seek the fastest powerline performance currently available, look no further than the D-Link Powerline AV2 2000 (model DHP-701AV). In my tests using the Jperf network performance tool, throughput averaged almost 350 megabits per second--more than 50 Mbps higher than its closest competitor, the ZyXel HD Powerline 1200 PLA5405.

Powerline performance varies widely depending on how a home is wired and the location of a networked device relative to the router, but relative performance never varied in my tests: D-Link's adapter was always the speediest.

There's a reason for the superior performance: D-Link DHP-701AV adapters use more of the bandwidth on electrical circuits (2- to 86MHz) than standard HomePlug AV2 MIMO products, which top out at about 68mhz. That's why D-Link pegs the DHP-701AV's theoretical performance at 2000 Mbps as opposed to the 1200 mbps claimed by standard HomePlug AV2 MIMO products.

Of course, you'll only enjoy the performance advantage between devices equipped with D-Link AV2 MIMO adapters (but in my tests, all powerline products performed best when paired with products from the same vendor). Performance degrades dramatically on a network with AV2 MIMO adapters from different vendors.

D-Link DHP-701AV adapters are large and chunky compared with most competitors; good luck trying to use a second wall outlet for something else (and there is no pass-through outlet). Also, as word has gotten out about the product's stellar performance, street prices for a two-adapter starter kit are much higher than D-Link's $130 MSRP--and that's already higher than most other HomePlug AV2 MIMO starter kits. Supply and demand, doncha know. (D-Link expects prices to come down as inventories are replenished.)

(www.techhive.com)

Yardena Arar

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