The D-Link DIR-895L, an AC5300 MU-MIMO Ultra Wi-Fi router, has now been released as the successor to the DIR-890 which was a AC3200 based wireless router. Similar in design to their Taipan, the DIR-895L has 2 additional antennas (total of 8) and comes in a glossy red colour.
“The D-Link AC5300 MU-MIMO Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-895L) delivers the ultimate in Wi-Fi performance, with the fastest Wi-Fi speeds for the most demanding tasks like 4K Video Streaming and high speed multiplayer gaming, all across multiple devices simultaneously.” (D-Link, 2016)
From the recent press release, this wireless router promises to deliver incredible performance with the aid of six key features:
- Faster processor – the DIR-895L utilises a 1.4Ghz dual core processor for even faster processing of supported features
- 4×4 – this unit is capable of supporting 4 simultaneous data streams which provide for increased throughput
- MU-MIMO – using the latest in MIMO technology, the DIR-895L can provision high-bandwidth wireless signal to multiple devices simultaneously
- SmartConnect – dynamic allocation of bandwidth for optimal performance
- Advanced AC SmartBeam – provides a more focused and reliable connection
- Tri-Band – Uses 2 x 5Ghz and a single 2.4Ghz band to provide more bandwidth for supported devices
| Device Interfaces | 802.11 ac/n/g/b/a Wireless LAN Four 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN Ports 10/100/1000 Gigabit WAN Port One USB 3.0 Port One USB 2.0 Port |
| LEDs | Power Internet WLAN 2.4GHz WLAN 5GHz USB 2.0 USB 3.0 |
| Antenna | 8 x Detachable |
| Wireless Operating Frequency | 2.4 GHz band 2 x 5 GHz band |
| Standards | IEEE 802.11ac IEEE 802.11n IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.3ab IEEE 802.3u IEEE 802.3x |
| Wireless Security | WPA & WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) PIN/PBC |
| Advanced Features | MU-MIMO1 SmartConnect Guest zone mydlink SharePort™ web access Multi-language web setup wizard Advanced AC SmartBeam VPN Passthrough (PPTP/L2TP/IPsec) Advanced QoS QuickVPN - L2TP over IPsec |
| Advanced Firewall Features | Dual active firewall Network Address Translation (NAT) Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) |
| Power | Input: 100 to 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz Output: 12 V DC, 5 A |
| Dimensions | 417.73mm (L) x 262.72mm (W) x 149.6mm (D) |
Software
The management software for the DIR-895L is pretty much the same as what we saw with the Taipan minus the ADSL2+ components so I won’t go too much into detail in this review.
Performance
Our standard wireless tests were run to assess the performance of the router from 5 different locations:
- Same room
- Same floor next room separated by a void
- Same floor opposite end of house
- One floor above
- Outside
The signal strength performed better than the Taipan when we tested it. Overall was fairly impressed with it.
Another test we ran was a simple file copy of a 7GB Linux ISO with my Surface Pro 2, firstly with the in-built wireless-N adapter and finally with the Netgear A6210 wireless-AC USB adapter.
Performance was a little disappointing considering the theoretical potential of this router but this was most likely due to the wireless adapters used in testing. This is a fairly important consideration when looking at wireless routers, don’t expect the highest possible speeds from the start if you are not running the exact same wireless standards on your wireless devices.
Final Thoughts
Having reviewed a couple of the new D-Link routers recently, we were fairly excited about getting some hands on time with the DIR-895L and we were not disappointed. Whilst we did experience some slow speeds with file copying on an older device, streaming high definition video to our wireless devices worked as expected.
I love the management interface and made full use of the GUI QoS management tool. Wireless bandwidth contention issues became a thing of the past with the Netflix/YouTube tablets and phones delegated to lower priority.
The unit is large but fortunately can be wall mounted. If you want to make a statement with your router, this shiny red beast is certainly one to consider if you wallet can afford it.
