Netgear XAUB2511 Powerline Music Extender review

We had no trouble setting up and printing to a USB printer, but we did have to wait while Windows Update found and installed the correct driver for it. You don’t have to configure any network settings, but you do have to connect to the printer in the Netgear USB Media Extender utility bundled with the kit. You only do have to do this once, however.

You can access the contents of attached USB drives in a number of ways, including through your web browser. We could access attached storage easily enough, but we didn’t like using the XAU2511’s web interface to configure it, as it was too slow and cumbersome, and isn’t as high quality as the web interfaces seen on Netgear’s routers. Thankfully, you’ll rarely have to use the XAU2511’s web interface and the bundled utilities work well.

The Netgear Powerline Music Extender kit is perfect if you want a reliable and stress-free means of streaming audio from your Airplay-compatible device to your audio system. Setup is simple, the HomePlugs and long USB audio cable have great build quality and the kit is worth its price. We’d have preferred the HomePlugs to be rated at 500Mbit/s, and many users would benefit from a digital audio connection, but we had no problems with sound quality and the HomePlugs performed well. If you want to make the most of your smart TV and iOS device, you should buy this Best Buy-winning HomePlug kit.