This article is more than 1 year old

Devolo dLan AVplus

Now with mains power pass-through socketry

And, again, the AVeasy set yield a slightly better throughput than the AVplus, presumably a result of the extra circuitry the latter have to support the pass-through power socket.

The AVplus units are rated at 5.5W and 0.1A - each AVeasy is down as 5W and 0.09A. We plugged in a power meter and found the AVplus typically consumed 4W, rising to a peak of 7W when swapping data. The AVeasy stayed at 5W and peaked at 6W. The Belkin consumed 7W when not transferring data, rising to 8W when it was swapping packets.

When left alone for a while, so each adaptor drops into stand-by mode, the Belkin never dropped below 7W. The AVeasy stayed at 5W, but the AVplus fell to 3W. That isn't quite the 60 per cent power reduction Devolo claims - though it is 60 per cent of the standby power consumption of the AVeasy.

That's perhaps not enough to choose AVplus over AVeasy, which, in two-adaptor starter packs, cost on average £120 and £90, respectively. It's good to reduce energy consumption, but choosing AVeasy or AVplus is really about convenience. If you need the pass-through port, paying the £30 - £15 per unit - extra is a no-brainer. If not, you may as well go for the cheaper starter pack, or mix and match individual adaptors.

Verdict

Once again, Devolo's HomePlug AV-standard powerline adaptors deliver best-in-class performance, but now with reduced stand-by power consumption and the advantage of pass-through mains power. But if that's not an essential requirement, Devolo's equally well-performing AVeasy adaptors are cheaper. ®

More Powerline Networking Reviews...


Belkin
HD Gigabit

D-Link
DHP-303

Solwise
Piggy 6

Devolo
dLAN AVEasy
Wireless G
80%
Devolo dLan AVplus

Devolo dLan AVplus

Best-in-class powerline networking performance with the the convenience of pass-through mains power.
Price: £120 (two-unit starter kit) RRP

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like