CONCLUSION

   The Thecus N2560 NAS Server is a small yet solid device with good performance across the board but does that mean that it's really good? Well for good or bad NAS servers are not judged solely by their performance but also by their available connections, build quality and of course their web interface (OS). Well i can't say i have any complaints in terms of connectivity since the N2560 offers both HDMI and SPDIF with two USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0 port and 1 Gigabit Ethernet port so all is well in this area. Unfortunately the exterior is made with plastic something which may disappoint some users since the majority of NAS servers have aluminum exteriors. However what's really annoying is the web interface (Thecus OS6) of the N2560 and here it seems that Thecus has a long way to go before their OS can go up against the ones by QNAP, Synology and even ASUStor in terms of user friendliness and of course appearance. Regarding the T-OnTheGo app i can't really make any comments but the fact that Thecus has thought of giving users a DDNS so they can access the device from anywhere in the world is very positive. Moving to the XBMC application i really think that with a little bit of tweaking it should be able to playback even the highest bitrate media files but until then that doesn't seem to be possible (on the other hand however that applies with most NAS Servers around the same price point as the N2560 not to mention most can't even use XBMC so we can't really consider it as a con).

   Thecus promotes the N2560 NAS Server as a home oriented solution (especially since they emphasize its media playback features) so right from the bat we didn't expect it to carry a hefty price tag. Unfortunately although we did manage to find the less powerful Thecus N2520 model inside the USA for unknown reasons the N2560 is yet not available at least not on any of the stores we know of (the recommended price tag however is set at around USD300 so you can expect to find it for less once it makes its debut). Still it is available inside the EU for a price tag of 276Euros (Amazon.de) and that makes for a very tempting price/performance solution especially for people who would like to use a NAS server for media playback. True the OS used is far from what I’d like it to be but it’s more than sufficient and in the long run Thecus could always introduce something a lot better to upgrade it. Bottom line for its performance, low noise levels, low temperature levels, size, looks and media connectivity (HDMI/SPDIF) the Thecus N2560 NAS Server grabs our Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Design (For Some)
- Good Performance (Speed/Temperatures/Noise Levels)
- Features
- 2GB DDR3 RAM
- Gigabit Ethernet Port
- 3 USB Ports (2xUSB 2.0 / 1xUSB 3.0)
- HDMI Output
- SPDIF Output
- SATA III (6Gb/s)
- T-OnTheGo DDNS Android/iOS App
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Availability In The USA (Current)
- Thecus OS Needs Much Work