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 received extra top-end ports than another dock we’ve examined and a built-in SSD enclosure so you’ll be able to add as much as an additional 8TB of storage, but it is among the most reasonably priced docking stations obtainable.
Price When Reviewed
$299.99
Best Prices Today: Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock
$299.99
Is it a hen? 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 just isn’t the 19 top-end ports, though these are actually spectacular. It’s not the two.5x quicker 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 implies you’ll be able to add as much as 8TB of SSD storage to your system with out connecting an exterior storage gadget to the dock or pc.
But first, let’s have a look at the abundance of ports this dock boasts to attach units 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 title consists of the facility provide port, which we don’t normally 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 best Thunderbolt docks.
Thunderbolt 4, USB-C and USB-A ports
All the Echo 20’s USB ports are no less than 10Gbps (twice the bandwidth of the various docks’ USB ports). The TS4 has as many (8) however the Echo 20 has yet another USB-C, whereas the TS4 has the additional USB-A. As extra units 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 units through the 2 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, though the units linked will likely be sharing the 40Gbps bandwidth upstream to the laptop computer.
Rather than add the utmost potential three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, Sonnet consists of 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.
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Adding inside storage
The Echo 20 doesn’t ship with an SSD, so it’s essential buy one your self. A 1TB SSD might be discovered for beneath $50, 2TB for round $100, 4TB for $250. 8TB SSDs can price between $800 and $1,000.
It have to be an M.2 NVMe SSD. With the precise SSD, switch and entry knowledge charges are as much as 800MBps.
Further studying: The best SSDs
Foundry
SSD set up is straightforward if you know the way 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’d have most popular Sonnet to incorporate the proper 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 moveable, so what you retailer on that SSD isn’t going with you if you disconnect the laptop computer from the dock. It’s nice for backups, archiving, and for big recordsdata you don’t want with you on the highway.
There’s additionally a quick SD card reader for extra moveable storage…
Portable storage
The Echo 20 options only one SD card reader for moveable storage, whereas the TS4 has each SD and MicroSD readers.
Having each codecs gives extra flexibility, and the 2 slots can be utilized on the identical time, so the TS4 wins in the event you want moveable 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 normally cheaper than full-size SD.
Tiny reminiscence playing cards have been as soon as the protect {of professional} customers equivalent to photographers who use them to shortly switch recordsdata. However, anybody should buy a high quality 512GB card for round $75/£75, and so they supply an affordable manner of upping the storage in your laptop computer and are tremendous moveable, 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, in the event you want moveable 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, obtainable for round $30 (additionally not together with the SSD itself).
Foundry
Dock show choices
You can join an exterior show through the HDMI 2.1 port (with out the necessity for an adapter), and one other display through one of many Thunderbolt ports, or two through each the downstream Thunderbolt ports.
Dual-display help 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 help 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 help 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 widespread 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 high quality possibility even for high-end professionals. 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 back and front
Visuals aren’t the Echo 20’s solely energy. There are 4 audio ports obtainable. 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 additional 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, plenty of client A/V tools nonetheless helps RCA connectors, which additionally present a safer connection than 3.5mm connectors.
Audio fans would favor a Digital Audio port to attach on to their amplifier, audio system, or dwelling theatre receiver for the highest-quality, pure audio playback, however the audio ports on the Echo 20 will likely 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 quicker than customary Gigabit Ethernet. This once more matches the wired-network port on the TS4.
To make the most of the two.5GbE velocity, you want a linked gadget—equivalent to a router/community swap—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 preserve even the most important linked laptop computer powered up in full use.
Each USB port on the Echo 20 has a minimal charging energy of 7.5W, and the downstream TB4 ports can supply 15W to energy linked units.
While that is spectacular, it’s one space the place the Caldigit TS4 has extra muscle. Its 230W energy provide is probably 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 through USB-C.
The Echo 20’s 150W energy provide ought to, nevertheless, be highly effective sufficient to cost a 100W laptop computer and have sufficient left for a couple of linked units.
Foundry
Design
Docking stations both lie horizontally, just like the Echo 20, or stand vertically, just like the TS4. Vertical docks save desk area however horizontal docks can supply a cleaner look.
Personally, I want the vertical design, however most docks, if doing their job accurately, quickly mix into their desktop atmosphere anyway.
Most docks place the upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (to the host laptop computer) on the entrance, which implies 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 it’s essential issue on this if you wish to add the interior storage, however it’s not even an possibility with different docks so doesn’t spoil the comparability.
Even in the event 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 crushed 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, however it has different advantages—most noticeably the interior 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 alternative.
Editor’s observe: This evaluation initially appeared on Macworld.com.