A bizarre-looking network
adapter with a trick up its sleeve
The Edimax CV-7438nDM is a curiously funnel-shaped device
that lets you connect up to two Ethernet-only devices - such as smart TVs,
older Sky+ HD boxes and Blu-ray players - to your wireless network at home so
they can access the internet. Not only that, you can also connect speakers to
the CV-7438nDM and stream audio to them from any compatible PC or mobile
device.
The CV-7438nDM can draw power from a USB port on your
computer, Blu-ray player or other device, or you can connect it to the mains
via a supplied plug adapter. We’d recommend using the adapter because we found
that the Ethernet connection to our test laptop kept cutting out when the
CV-7438nDM was powered by USB, but not when it was plugged into the mains.
Edimax CV-7438nDM N600
Once switched on, you can connect to the CV-7438nDM
wirelessly via your tablet, computer or smartphone, and select the network you
want to use in the adapter’s web interface. The CV-7438nDM scans the airwaves
before listing all the wireless routers it’s detected. Select one, then restart
the CV-7438nDM once it’s connected to your router. Now you should be able to
connect the CV-7438nDM to a computer, Blu-ray player or any other device with
an Ethernet port, so that it can access your home network and the internet.
You can also plug speakers into the CV-7438nDM and stream
music to them from any device that uses Apple’s AirPlay streaming technology. This
means any computer running iTunes, any iOS device or any Android device running
the Twonky Beam app. We found there were occasional audio drop-outs when
streaming to the CV-7438nDM from an iPhone 4s and a Nexus 5, but this was
largely due to the heavy wireless congestion within our test environment.
The CV-7438nDM N600’s ports
As the CV-7438nDM is essentially a dual-band wireless adapter,
we connected it to our test laptop and configured it to communicate with
another PC via a Linksys EA4500 wireless router on the 5 GHz band. This test
setup transferred data at 119.8Mbps at a distance of one meter, 114.8Mbps at 10
meters and 28.9Mbps at 25 meters. When we used our test laptop’s built-in Wi-Fi
adapter to perform the same test, the setup achieved transfer speeds of 76.3Mbps
at one and 10 meters, and 21.7Mbps at 25 meters. This shows that the CV-7438nDM
is capable of very fast wireless performance.
The CV-7438nDM is a brilliant means of connecting
Ethernet-only devices to your wireless network, and the fact you can stream
music to connected speakers from AirPlay-compatible devices is a major bonus.
But if wireless reception in your home is poor, then the similar Netgear Music
Extender XAUB2511 is a better choice as it relies on Powerline instead.
The CV-7438nDM is capable of very
fast wireless performance
|
Specifications
·
Price: $83
·
Type: Wi-Fi Bridge
·
Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n
·
1x Gigabit Ethernet port
·
1x 10/100Mbps Ethernet port
·
3.5mm audio jack
·
Dimensions: 95 x 97 x 100m
·
Weight: 250g
·
One-year warranty
Verdict
·
A fast Ethernet-to-wireless adapter with useful audio streaming
built in too
·
Rating: 4/5
|
