Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 Dock first with integrated PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Storage

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Sonnet has a new Thunderbolt 5 dock with four TB5 ports and an internal PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD slot that'll work with your existing M-series Macs and ensure future compatibility with higher speeds.

Black SonnetTech docking station with USB, microSD, SD slots, headphone jack, and power indicators on the front panel, featuring a ribbed top surface.
New Sonnet Echo 13 SSD Dock. Image source: Sonnet



Thunderbolt 5 is fresh to the market, and Sonnet didn't waste any time getting the Echo 13 SSD Dock to the market. It adds plenty of ports and SSD storage up to 4TB to your Mac.

Since the Echo 13 SSD Dock is Thunderbolt 5 and is equipped with four Thunderbolt 5 ports, it is future-proofed for when companies like Apple embrace the spec. The ultra-fast spec allows bi-directional data bandwidth of 80Gbps, so support for two 8K displays is enabled on products that allow it.

Two of the downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports provide 15W each for charging and bus-powered device operation, while the third provides 60W.

In addition to the TB5 ports, users get four USB 3.2 Type A ports, a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, SD, and microSD card slots. The connected Mac or PC gets up to 140W charging power and 120Gbps of video bandwidth.

Of the four USB-A ports, three are 10Gbps, and one is 5Gbps. The 10Gbps ports also include 7.5W of power that work even when the connected computer is powered off.

Sonnet also included a built-in PCIe 4.0 NVMe slot that supports M.2 SSDs with up to 6,100 MB/s data transfers. Users can configure the dock with a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB Kingston SSD.

Black electronic device with three USB ports, Ethernet port, two Thunderbolt ports, and a power input on the rear panel.
The Sonnet Echo 13 SSD Dock has plenty of ports and an M.2 slot. Image source: Sonnet



"The Echo 13 SSD Dock is just the beginning of our Thunderbolt 5 journey," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "We are excited to deliver products that fully leverage the speed and flexibility of this next-generation technology."

Get the Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock with 4TB of storage starting in January with greater supply arriving in mid-March alongside the other storage options. The 4TB model is $669.99, the 2TB model is $499.99, and the 1TB model is $399.99.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member
    Finally... this is a step in the right direction.  Having a Thunderbolt dock with a built-in NVMe ability.

    This dock needs one USB-A and one USBc/TB port on the front, and the back needs way more TB/USBc ports.  How would I connect more than one monitor in the back?  

    It's so close, but without numerous USBC ports on the back, this is limited.

    I'm hoping Caldigit comes out with a better-equipped TB5 dock.  The 2.5g ethernet is a good start, would be nice to have 10g ethernet.
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    Supports up to 2 8K monitors - so how many 5K monitors?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 7
    Mike Wuerthelemike wuerthele Posts: 6,956administrator
    sflocal said:
    Finally... this is a step in the right direction.  Having a Thunderbolt dock with a built-in NVMe ability.

    This dock needs one USB-A and one USBc/TB port on the front, and the back needs way more TB/USBc ports.  How would I connect more than one monitor in the back?  

    It's so close, but without numerous USBC ports on the back, this is limited.

    I'm hoping Caldigit comes out with a better-equipped TB5 dock.  The 2.5g ethernet is a good start, would be nice to have 10g ethernet.
    We've reviewed a few docks with internal storage, but you're right, they're few and far between. We'll have this one on my test bench in the next two weeks or so.

    The biggest issue with storage and loads of ports is Thunderbolt PCI-E allocation, but we'll see what TB5 delivers in the long run. It's early days yet.
    edited January 17
    hmurchisonAlex_V
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,769member
    What a great idea. I wish I had thought of it.

    What's next, a built-in microphone? Speakers? Bluetooth? A HomeKit controllable LED light? Some Stream Deck buttons on top?
    Mariner8
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    Love to see the faster SSD, ethernet, and USB ports! Finally Thunderbolt starts to seem like an actually viable replacement for PCIe slots, for some basic I/O purposes. Asus also has announced a TB5 dock with fast NVMe and 2.5Gbe, surely more to come too. Sonnet should be a strong choice for Mac users. 
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    thttht Posts: 5,809member
    Why are the high power Thunderbolt ports in the front of the dock? Wouldn't it be better if they were in the back?

    My usage case is a 1 cable setup. One TB cable goes to the laptop, and one TB cable goes to the external display. Other ports would be for accessories. The one TB cable going to the laptop would be a 60/90W TB port. Here, those ports are in the front, which is annoying to my eyes.
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    sflocal said:
    Finally... this is a step in the right direction.  Having a Thunderbolt dock with a built-in NVMe ability.

    This dock needs one USB-A and one USBc/TB port on the front, and the back needs way more TB/USBc ports.  How would I connect more than one monitor in the back?  

    It's so close, but without numerous USBC ports on the back, this is limited.

    I'm hoping Caldigit comes out with a better-equipped TB5 dock.  The 2.5g ethernet is a good start, would be nice to have 10g ethernet.
    I have to agree.

    Since I got my first MacBook that was USB-C only, I haven’t bought any peripherals using B to A cables. I sold all my USB 2 drives because of the slower speed and bought some USB3 drives with type C ports and C to C cables. But the docks and hubs at the time were way over loaded with type A ports and in some cases had no downstream type C at all, so I had to connect and disconnect all the time.  Finally, I capitulated and bought a CalDigit TS4 and got charging, two downstream Tbolt 4 and three downstream USB 3.2 type C and they tossed in five 3.2 type A ports just to be nice.

    This Sonnet has one type A that is only 3.1 and three that are 3.2. Why not four 3.2 ports at least? There’s still very few C to C hubs out there, buying a dock as expensive as the Sonnet and then using the Tbolt 5 ports for 3.2 devices seems a waste, especially since there are only three ports. Buying some C to A cables instead to make use of the A ports seems silly at this price point.  Easy enough to buy type B to C cables or A to C dongles  if you still have older USB peripherals, then there could be four 3.2 type C ports leaving the Tbolt ports free.

    How about a CalDigit TS5 with three downstream Tbolt 5 and about six 3.2 type C? Now that would be something.
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