Yes, I have both AP's on ethernet to a central router. AP's are set to bridge mode. They use the same SSID for everything (both bands and both AP's) in Wifi Roaming. This seems to work well. IMO, its worked better than when you run different SSIDs for AP (or band) and then have trouble with the device letting go of the connection and transitioning. *I don't walk around when streaming video but FaceTime stays HD and doesn't freeze when walking around the house (as it did with different SSIDs) so that's my test.
Mesh is good and all but only necessary when you don't have ethernet backhaul. Ethernet and AP's in bridge mode are always my preference (unless bridge mode is cancelling certain features like the G Wifi example).
Using the above configuration, over the past 3 months I've tried 3 different hardware vendors; 1. Apple Airport Extremes only, 2. an Asus / Netgear marriage of 2 AP's and 3. Google WifI. The Asus / Netgear combo was the most trouble. The Airport Extremes may be a bit slower on the backplane than newer routers but honestly, it is still rock solid. No reboots. No multitude of configurations and solid, consistent WiFi. Wifi speeds throughout the house are 100+Mbps. If you are starting fresh, Google/Eero/Ubiquiti are good choices. If you have existing Airports and can run ethernet, I would ride this out a bit longer until we know 100% Apple is out of the game.
[doublepost=1497382900][/doublepost]
I have tried multiple brands of these "mesh" setups. The problem I had is that my device (such as my iphone) would connect to a particular access point but as I moved throughout the house my iphone would stay connected to the initial, distant AP and performance would be poor. Even though I had an AP in the same room with me, my device would stay connected to one on the far side of the house. Since there was some signal, the device didnt switch to another AP. Performance was poor though. Turn off/on wifi then it would connect to the close AP again. Walk to another part of the house and the device would stay connect to the initial AP. If you have dead spots and want some connectivity, these setups are probably fine. If you are paying for 200mb+ Internet bandwidth and want to fully utilize your bandwidth, these mesh setups may not work for you. The article needs to include an actual test of the equipment...
If you're trying to hack what you have, go with the same SSID across all AP's and bands (2.4 & 5). Be sure to set the AP's and bands to different channels (Wifi Explorer for Mac is a good one). That is the best you can hope for. As others have said, there are better, more enterprise grade AP's and controllers out there that can better manage these transitions.
I know for me, I got all caught up in the "Apple is abandoning us" "The grass is greener" and hot new newness hype but in the end, mesh doesn't perform better than good ol ethernet wired AP's. I already had the Airports and couldn't justify the $250-$400 everyone is getting for these new set ups. If you have old, old AP's, or want 802.11ac sure, upgrade. But even at going on 4yrs old now, the Airports are holding their own. I'll wait for Apple to reveal their hand before moving on.