# airport express or airport extreme?



## xorpion (Jul 26, 2002)

just wondering what is the difference between the two, advantages/disadvantages, etc.

likely will buy one or the other at some point.


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

The Airport Express can only support 10 people, but is able to be hooked up to a stereo to stream your music.

The Airport Extreme Base Station has the ability for an external antennae to be plugged in, supports more users and some versions have the ability to plug in a dial up connection instead of your standard ethernet connection if necessary.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

The AirPort Extreme Base Station can also act as a router as it has a 2nd Ethernet port.

Oh. And it also looks cooler.


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## char (May 22, 2005)

I got the extreme (wireless printing etc) and then, within 3 months got the express so I could get a stronger signal in another part of my house and use the wireless to stereo for music. I wonder how many others ended up with both? For my friends with simple setups at home and no special desire for wireless printing, I recommend the express.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Anywhere from one to three clients at once here, no client farther than 60 ft from the express, and things generally work well. The problem is that with walls and such, the signal strength for the farthest client machine (an iMac G4) can be pretty weak and even drop out entirely at times. (Possible cordless phone interference.)

So, if you need to use it at any significant distance or through major obstructions, go with the full-blown base station.


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## mclenaghan (Sep 27, 2002)

We have the extreme which works well for our home network. The other nice feature of the extreme is the print server for rendezvous printing. If you only want or need one printer then that maybe another feature to consider. The single strength is great we can go from the upstair floor to the basement and still get a good signal. It would be stronger with both if you are running machines with '801.11g' cards. We only have 'b' cards so the signal is not a larger and stong, but still works great.

If we had a stereo and wanted to stream the music then we would probably use the express.


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## Willy Z (Oct 25, 2004)

Instead of buying an airport express as a router ONLY, get a linksys WRt54G.

now, I have an airport express that extends my linksys network at home and I love it !
I actually have it located in my bathroom and a set of speakers is plugged in.
I also convinced my housemates to use iTunes and now, we're all listening to music in the shower, while it boosts the signal in my bedroom


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## TimStalin (May 22, 2005)

mclenaghan said:


> The other nice feature of the extreme is the print server for rendezvous printing. If you only want or need one printer then that maybe another feature to consider.


Is there a difference in printing between the Express and the Extreme? I thought each had one USB printer port? Or is there something I'm missing? Thanks.


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## kent (Oct 18, 2003)

The express is portable, has a USB port for printing, can stream music, uses Apple's great admin software, and is cheaper BUT it has limited range [by comparison], cannot connect to a LAN [for computers without wi-fi capabilities], and only two computer can connect at once.

The extreme has great range, also uses the terrific Apple admin software, has a USB port for wireless printing [which is awesome BTW], has both WAN and LAN ports [so you can connect wi-fi clients to an existing LAN] BUT, it's more expensive [at least 2x], cannot stream music, and it's not designed to be portable.

I have the X-treme and I love it: super reliable - never had any problems, the wi-fi printing is superb. The admin software is fantastic. I agree with Lars - it's a damn fine looking piece of hardware - capable too [all show with lots of go].


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

kent said:


> The express is portable, has a USB port for printing, can stream music, uses Apple's great admin software, and is cheaper BUT it has limited range [by comparison], cannot connect to a LAN [for computers without wi-fi capabilities], and only two computer can connect at once.


Up to ten computers can connect, but otherwise you've got it exactly right.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

mclenaghan said:


> The single strength is great we can go from the upstair floor to the basement and still get a good signal. It would be stronger with both if you are running machines with '801.11g' cards. We only have 'b' cards so the signal is not a larger and stong, but still works great.


Are you sure b vs. g affects the base station's signal strength? AFAIK the only difference should be transfer speeds (not the same thing).


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

I don't have a cordless phone, but I suspect one of the neighbours does. I can't really be sure, but that's my conclusion from the way the farthest client machine's reception suddenly drops out sometimes. I do have robustness ON, and I do have my network set to closed.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

iMatt said:


> Are you sure b vs. g affects the base station's signal strength? AFAIK the only difference should be transfer speeds (not the same thing).


802.11b range is about 150 feet or so.
802.11g range is about 50 feet or so.

From the Apple website:

http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/specs.html

Range
50-foot range from the base station in typical use at 54 Mbps data rate (range depends on building construction) (1)
150-foot range from the base station in typical use at 11 Mbps data rate (range depends on building construction)


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

PosterBoy said:


> 802.11b range is about 150 feet or so.
> 802.11g range is about 50 feet or so.
> 
> From the Apple website:
> ...


Thanks.

So it's actually the opposite of what the other poster mentioned. The reason I'm curious is that I have an express unit, but in the admin utility I configured it to use 802.11b only, because all my client machines are b-only. As I said, I get about 60 feet through several walls, but it's weak on the other end. I just figure it's the price I pay for being a cheapskate.


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## DurhamGeek (Jun 27, 2005)

mclenaghan said:


> We have the extreme which works well for our home network. The other nice feature of the extreme is the print server for rendezvous printing. If you only want or need one printer then that maybe another feature to consider. The single strength is great we can go from the upstair floor to the basement and still get a good signal. It would be stronger with both if you are running machines with '801.11g' cards. We only have 'b' cards so the signal is not a larger and stong, but still works great.
> 
> If we had a stereo and wanted to stream the music then we would probably use the express.




Hi,

do you still have the Perform 580CD kicking around ? Whatsa price?


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