Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple AirPort Express Base Station with AirTunes - Radio access point - 802.11b/g

True Plug n Play ! - it took longer for me to open the boxes than to get it all working. this is an amazing bit of technology, turns your Mac (or PC) into a wireless music server for about £100, as opposed to paying a few grand for a "proper" music server. CD's are becoming increasingly unused now, i have my iPod and now Airport Express. Having listened to a varied number of songs so far (all encoded in 128k ACC) the sound is as good as playing a CD, although the output is ever so slighty quieter than a normal CD.

Having only installed this on my Powerbook, i can't say how easy the installation will be on a Windows machine, but i'm assuming (and am probably right) that it will be more difficult. Although given the ease of use on a Mac i don't think it would be terribly hard.

Other than allowing you to stream music from your computer to stereo, a USB priinter can be plugged in to allow network printing and simply create a wireless network when your on the go - eliminatig the hassle of having to have sit next to the network port.

Overall this, like all Apple kit, is of serious quality and so simple to use it's nearly unbelievable.

I recently purchased an AirPort Express Base Station, with the intention of connecting it to my existing wireless network, to both stream iTunes music, and act as an Ethernet bridge for my Xbox. I was surprised, and very disappointed to find out that when connecting to an existing wireless network, its Ethernet port is disabled, and it is not possible to use it as an Ethernet bridge. I should make it clear that Apple do not suggest anywhere that it can be used in this way - I simply expected it to be able to do so. This means that I am now going to have to purchase a separate Ethernet bridge, such as the Netgear WGE111 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adaptor: (http://www.netgear.co.uk/home_wireless_ethernet_bridges.php#WGE111).

For those that are interested (perhaps those looking at buying an AirPort Express for the above reason), my configuration is as follows:

Upstairs:
Netgear DG814 DDSL Modem Internet Gateway
D-Link DWL-2000AP AirPlus Xtreme Wireless Access Point (connected to DG814, and therefore providing a wireless access point to my LAN / Internet)

Lounge:
Apple AirPort Express connected wirelessly to DWL-2000AP
Amplifier & Xbox
A long UTP RJ45 connection running from Xbox to DG814...

This appears to be a fairly common scenario - a quick look through the Apple support forums suggests that a number of people have expected the same level of functionality, only to find out that it is not possible.

The above, of course, does not detract from the fact that the AirPort Express is an excellent piece of kit. It is well made, and performs its advertised functions very well. It just doesn't do what I hoped it would.

I ordered one of these recently as wanted to set up wireless music from my lounge to my bedroom. I already have a Belkin wireless modem router and the Airport Express works seamlessly with it. The only annoying thing about a AE is that its very fiddly to reset if you need to. Has to be plugged in at wall, whilst you use something like a paperclip to press and hold the reset button. But overall recommended.