At a look
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- 19 top-end ports
- Built-in M.2 NVMe SSD slot
- 2.5Gb Ethernet
- Dedicated HDMI 2.1 port
- 100W PD
Cons
- HDMI means simply two downstream TB4 ports
- 150W energy provide
Our Verdict
It’s bought extra top-end ports than every other dock we’ve examined and a built-in SSD enclosure so you possibly can add as much as an further 8TB of storage, but it is likely one of the most reasonably priced docking stations out there.
Best Prices Today: Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock
$299.99
Is it a chicken? Is it a aircraft? No it’s SuperDock! But what makes Sonnet’s newest Thunderbolt 4 laptop computer docking station so tremendous?
The super-ness is just not the 19 top-end ports, though these are definitely spectacular. It’s not the two.5x sooner Ethernet connection. And it’s not the backward-compatible Thunderbolt 4 expertise that’s licensed to the very newest Intel requirements.
What makes the Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock so tremendous is its built-in M.2 NVMe SSD slot which suggests you possibly can add as much as 8TB of SSD storage to your system with out connecting an exterior storage system to the dock or laptop.
But first, let’s take a look at the abundance of ports this dock boasts to attach gadgets at prime velocity.
Foundry
Specs and options
The Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock has a copious 19 ports. The “20” within the Echo 20’s identify contains the ability provide port, which we don’t often rely in our port countdown.
- One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 100W)
- Two downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps, 15W)
- One HDMI 2.1 video port
- Four USB-A ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
- Four USB-C ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
- Internal M.2 NVMe SSD slot
- 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
- UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
- 3.5mm combo audio jack (entrance)
- 3.5mm microphone jack (again)
- Two (proper and left channels) line out RCA jacks (again)
- 150W energy provide
The Echo 20 has extra ports than we’ve seen with any docking station. Even the Caldigit TS4 Dock has solely (!) 18, and it’s this sort of Thunderbolt 4 docks that Sonnet is gunning for. Read our fuller roundup of our different suggestions for the perfect Thunderbolt docks.
Thunderbolt 4, USB-C and USB-A ports
All the Echo 20’s USB ports are at the very least 10Gbps (twice the bandwidth of the numerous docks’ USB ports). The TS4 has as many (8) however the Echo 20 has another USB-C, whereas the TS4 has the additional USB-A. As extra gadgets eschew Type A for Type C, we applaud Sonnet for having as many USB-C as USB-A.
You can daisy-chain as much as six Thunderbolt gadgets by way of the 2 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, though the gadgets linked shall be sharing the 40Gbps bandwidth upstream to the laptop computer.
Rather than add the utmost potential three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, Sonnet contains two plus a high-end HDMI 2.1 video port so the consumer can add a direct exterior show with out the necessity for an adapter.
If you intend to attach an HDMI show, that makes extra sense than a 3rd Thunderbolt 4 port.
Foundry
Adding inner storage
The Echo 20 doesn’t ship with an SSD, so that you must buy one your self. A 1TB SSD may be discovered for beneath $50, 2TB for round $100, 4TB for $250. 8TB SSDs can price between $800 and $1,000.
It should be an M.2 NVMe SSD. With the appropriate SSD, switch and entry knowledge charges are as much as 800MBps.
Further studying: The finest SSDs
Foundry
SSD set up is easy if you understand how to make use of a screwdriver and don’t have shaky palms. Unscrew the 2 screws securing a panel cowl on the again panel of the dock. Insert the SSD and re-secure the underside cowl.
However, we might have most well-liked Sonnet to incorporate the right screwdrivers with the dock as what you want—a tiny crosshead—might not be within the common toolbox.
The Echo 20 isn’t heavy however even with its compact energy provide it’s not notably transportable, so what you retailer on that SSD isn’t going with you whenever you disconnect the laptop computer from the dock. It’s nice for backups, archiving, and for giant recordsdata you don’t want with you on the street.
There’s additionally a quick SD card reader for extra transportable storage…
Portable storage
The Echo 20 options only one SD card reader for transportable storage, whereas the TS4 has each SD and MicroSD readers.
Having each codecs affords extra flexibility, and the 2 slots can be utilized on the identical time, so the TS4 wins should you choose transportable storage to be put in.
Most MicroSD playing cards include an SD adapter so the shortage of MicroSD doesn’t cease you from selecting between the 2 memory-card codecs on the Echo 20. MicroSD playing cards are often cheaper than full-size SD.
Tiny reminiscence playing cards had been as soon as the protect {of professional} customers equivalent to photographers who use them to rapidly switch recordsdata. However, anybody should buy a top quality 512GB card for round $75/£75, and they provide an cheap manner of upping the storage in your laptop computer and are tremendous transportable, too.
The Echo 20’s UHS II SD card reader is rated quick at 312MBps—the identical because the TS4’s.
As with different docks, should you choose transportable storage there are different choices, too. For instance, you might add a pocketable SSD enclosure, equivalent to Ugreen’s M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Adapter, out there for round $30 (additionally not together with the SSD itself).
Dock show choices
You can join an exterior show by way of the HDMI 2.1 port (with out the necessity for an adapter), and one other display by way of one of many Thunderbolt ports, or two by way of each the downstream Thunderbolt ports.
Dual-display assist means M1/M2 Pro, M1/M2 Max and M1/M2 Ultra Macs can hook up both a single 4K/5K/6K display or two HD/4K/5K/6K shows.
A Mac with an M2 Pro/Max/Ultra chip can assist as much as a single 8K show at 60Hz, or two HD/4K/5K/6K shows (each 4K at 60Hz).
Windows PCs and Chromebooks sporting Thunderbolt 4 can assist as much as a single 8K show at 60Hz, or two HD/4K shows at 60Hz.
An attention-grabbing distinction between the Echo 20 (HDMI 2.1) and the Caldigit TS4 (DisplayPort 1.4) is the selection of video port.
HDMI is the extra in style port on shows however DisplayPort has historically been superior on the specs entrance. However, HDMI 2.1 has greater than caught up with DP 1.4 so is a effective choice even for high-end execs. HDMI 2.1 is an enormous leap up from HDMI 2.0, which is discovered on most different docking stations with a video port.
Audio ports entrance and again
Visuals aren’t the Echo 20’s solely energy. There are 4 audio ports out there. At the entrance is a 3.5mm combo jack for both wired headphones or a microphone, and on the again are separate left/proper channel RCA line-out jacks that may ship a clear sign to powered audio system or an amplifier, plus an further 3.5mm microphone jack.
The TS4’s three audio ports are all 3.5mm. While there isn’t a noticeable distinction in sound high quality between RCA and 3.5mm connectors, a number of client A/V tools nonetheless helps RCA connectors, which additionally present a safer connection than 3.5mm connectors.
Audio fans would like a Digital Audio port to attach on to their amplifier, audio system, or house theatre receiver for the highest-quality, pure audio playback, however the audio ports on the Echo 20 shall be adequate for many customers.
Super-fast Ethernet
Another bid for “Super” standing is the Echo 20’s super-fast 2.5Gb Gigabit Ethernet, which has the potential to be 2.5 occasions sooner than customary Gigabit Ethernet. This once more matches the wired-network port on the TS4.
To reap the benefits of the two.5GbE velocity, you want a linked system—equivalent to a router/community change—that’s 2.5GbE or above
The 2.5Gb Ethernet port is backwards and forwards suitable with different speeds of Ethernet, so will work with an ordinary Gigabit Ethernet community.
Docking energy
With 100W Power Delivery (PD), the Echo 20 can maintain even the biggest linked laptop computer powered up in full use.
Each USB port on the Echo 20 has a minimal charging energy of seven.5W, and the downstream TB4 ports can supply 15W to energy linked gadgets.
While that is spectacular, it’s one space the place the Caldigit TS4 has extra muscle. Its 230W energy provide is essentially the most powered-up docking station we’ve ever examined, and one of many entrance USB-C ports can cost at a beneficiant 20W–sufficient, for instance, for fast-charging an iPhone by way of USB-C.
The Echo 20’s 150W energy provide ought to, nonetheless, be highly effective sufficient to cost a 100W laptop computer and have sufficient left for a number of linked gadgets.
Foundry
Design
Docking stations both lie horizontally, just like the Echo 20, or stand vertically, just like the TS4. Vertical docks save desk house however horizontal docks can supply a cleaner look.
Personally, I choose the vertical design, however most docks, if doing their job accurately, quickly mix into their desktop setting anyway.
Most docks place the upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (to the host laptop computer) on the entrance, which suggests a trailing cable messing up your desk. Both the Echo 20 and TS4 handily place the upstream port behind the dock.
The Echo 20 is jet black, whereas the TS4 is steel grey, though that is unlikely to be a decider when selecting between these two glorious two docking stations.
Sonnet
Price
The Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock prices $299.99, which measures up very favorably in opposition to the Caldigit TS4’s $399.99 and different Thunderbolt 4 docks equivalent to Kensington’s SD5700T ($369.99).
Given its top-end specs, that is simply the best-value Thunderbolt 4 dock we’ve examined.
Note that there’s no SSD included with the Echo 20 so that you must issue on this if you wish to add the inner storage, but it surely’s not even an choice with different docks so doesn’t spoil the comparability.
Even should you don’t want the SSD enclosure now, the Echo 20 nonetheless represents nice worth for cash.
Verdict
We didn’t assume that Caldigit’s TS4 may very well be overwhelmed however the Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock is a really shut match for the quantity and high quality of ports however for $100 much less.
It lacks a MicroSD card reader and doesn’t supply as a lot multi-device energy, but it surely has different advantages—most noticeably the inner storage enclosure—and is specced excessive sufficient for many customers.
The 19 ports are all top-end—Thunderbolt 4, 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A, 2.5Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1—and the inclusion of the onboard M.2 NVMe SSD slot offers the Echo 20 our crown as the brand new Thunderbolt 4 docking station of selection.
Editor’s observe: This overview initially appeared on Macworld.com.
…. to be continued
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