Mavericks MBL 2T: access speed slow

The wifi is strong for all other devices in the house (pc, mac, android, iOS, printers).  The long delay is present even when only one wifi device is active.   

I connected via an old xp wired machine and the speed was  a little better.  I connected Macbook to ethernet router also and speed was also a little better, but still met with long delays that make opening folders with many items very painful.  

Does MyBookLive  HAVE to have a gigabit switch to wifi?