With Intel having delivered a brand new Thunderbolt 4 chipset, we’re seeing many firms embracing that platform to make docking stations with the newest expertise.
However, the variations between Thunderbolt 3 and 4 are refined, and one of the best side of the improve may be future USB 4.0 compatibility.
With a number of equally specified Thunderbolt 4 Docks in the marketplace, how does the Sonnet Echo 11 examine?
This dock can ship as much as 90 watts to cost a laptop computer linked to it (Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
Worth, availability and worth
The Echo 11 is at present out there straight from the makers for $319.99, and we discovered it by means of a UK on-line reseller Scan for £360. Typical European pricing is nearer to €400.
(Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
Design
Docking stations lately have boiled right down to aluminium tubes that maintain electronics, and saying rather more about them is embuing their exteriors with more consideration than they honestly deserve.
We’d go so far as to say that the place the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock had some class about it, the Sonnet Echo 11 is a triumph of design indifference over aesthetics. However it additionally seems to be similar to one other dock we’ve seen, however more of that later.
The powder coating utilized to the aluminium shell is tough like shark pores and skin, and it’s under no circumstances good to the touch.
It would lack in visible and tactile departments, however this dock has loads of ports. Sonnet even included an influence change for those who dislike plugging {hardware} in and it being instantly stay.
On the entrance face is the Thunderbolt uplink line that additionally serves to cost a linked laptop computer, an SD card reader, USB 2.0 port (with charging), 3.5mm combo audio jack and two LEDs to point out energy and link standing.
On the rear is the 20V DC inlet for the included energy provide, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and three USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Mbit).
(Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
What’s lacking is devoted exterior show outputs, until you may have Thunderbolt displays. Fortunately adapters are extensively out there to interrupt these out of the downlink ports.
These introduce a further price, nevertheless it avoids having DisplayPort on the dock while you need HDMI or vice versa. Having the ability to customise the ports on this approach is a strong possibility and is among the causes that Thunderbolt has develop into so in style with PC house owners.
Whereas it's true that the enhancements over Thunderbolt 3 with Thunderbolt 4 are refined, its future compatibility with USB 4.0 may make it the expertise that everybody migrates to ultimately.
(Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
{Hardware}
The more we checked out this dock, the rising ranges of déjà vu we skilled. Finally, we realised that just about exactly this exterior design and port structure is out there from Kensington because the SD5700T. The port specification can also be a repeat of the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock, although that machine has a unique enclosure.
A deeper dive into the uncooked specs revealed a couple of variations, however for sensible functions, these are principally the identical.
Earlier than anybody from these firms complains that their dock is the true one and the others are mere imitators, the similarities between them are too prevalent to disregard.
We suspect they’re all made in the identical facility utilizing a normal Intel Thunderbolt chipset, with slight variations based mostly on particular buyer calls for.
Wanting by means of the specs of the Echo 11 and Kensington SD5700T, we seen that the SD5700T is 5mm narrower in width, and it has Kensington safety slots on the left aspect. And conversely, the Echo 11 is 13 grams lighter than its counterpart.
They each include a 135W PSU and ship 90W of that to a laptop computer linked to the downlink, which is loads for charging.
(Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
Every Thunderbolt downlink port can ship 15W, and the USB 3.2 Gen 2 get 7.5W to distribute to their peripherals. However not all on the identical time, since these numbers don’t completely add as much as 135W while you take away the 90W of charging capability.
In the identical approach that when you may have this many ports and a funds of 40Mbits, of which solely 32Mbits will be allotted for information, it isn’t attainable to supply the utmost velocity on all ports concurrently.
For many who purchase the suitable adapters, Thunderbolt 4 will help a single 8K/6K/5K show or twin 4K show on the Echo 11.
However, there are a couple of caveats to a few of this in the event you don’t have Thunderbolt 4 and solely Thunderbolt 3.
Thunderbolt 3 confusion
On paper, this {hardware} appears to be like splendid for a lot of laptop computer house owners with a Thunderbolt port, as it may well present a single cable connection to workplace methods and peripherals once they’re sitting at their desks.
It’s a disgrace that almost all of current Thunderbolt customers may not be capable to make any use of it, since in keeping with Sonnet, it received’t work with PCs with Thunderbolt 3, solely Thunderbolt 4.
What makes this even much less palatable for PC house owners is that curiously it would work with Apple Mac methods which have Thunderbolt 3 ports, simply not PCs. This is similar limitation that the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock has, we famous.
What makes this example more obscure is that the Sonnet web site says about PC compatibility, “Compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and Late-model Thunderbolt 3 Windows Computers (see Compatibility PDF)”
However, those who learn the PDF will uncover that it fails to say ‘Late-model Thunderbolt 3’ anyplace. As a substitute, it reiterates that the Echo 11 isn’t appropriate with Home windows PCs with Thunderbolt 3 ports.
More confusion arrived once we linked it to a Home windows 10 desktop PC with an Asus Z170 Professional motherboard and an Asus Thunderbolt EX3 card, and it labored fortunately!
What constitutes ‘Late-model’ compatibility, we’re not sure. These fortunate sufficient to have it will likely be fantastic with the Echo 11, and others won't, it seems. We think about that Sonnet would possibly get a big variety of returns the place individuals assumed that that they had the right port solely to find on this occasion that they haven’t.
(Picture credit score: Mark Pickavance)
Rivals
Kensington has not too long ago outmoded the SD5700T with the SD5750T, although the variations are refined between these two (and the Echo 11). The SD5750T is $339.99 within the USA however not but typically out there in Europe. The unique SD5700T will be discovered on Amazon within the UK for £339.99.
A less expensive various is the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Component Hub, costing simply £219.99 within the UK and $229.99 within the USA. The draw back of the Component Hub system is that it solely gives 60W charging, however in different respects, its connection choices are higher, as it would work with USB gadgets just like the Apple iPad Professional.
Plugable has a really comparable providing to CalDigit with its Plugable Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 Hub costing solely $189 (£209). However once more, this hub solely gives 60W of charging energy.
Straight evaluating the almost similar Echo 11, SD5700T and OWC Thunderbolt Dock, the $319.99 price of the Sonnet hub is lower than the $339.99 Kensington however costlier than the $279 OWC design.
It's price noting that the Echo 11 and OWC docks solely include a 2-year guarantee, whereas the Kensington SD5700T contains an additional yr of protection.
(Picture credit score: Sonnet Tech)
Closing verdict
Probably the most fascinating side of the Echo 11 is the three Thunderbolt 4 downlink ports that may then be simply tailored to a variety of makes use of, together with exterior shows or 2.5GbE LAN connections, or no matter.
It’s additionally providing 90W of charging energy that’s sufficient for essentially the most demanding laptops retaining them operating and charging with out difficulty. When you think about all the opposite ports on this {hardware}, it could be splendid for almost all of Thunderbolt laptop customers
Apple Mac house owners have much less to fret about on this respect, though there are some well-documented points with early M1 {hardware} and what number of exterior shows this helps.
However the largest issues that this {hardware} are principally the worth and availability. At $319.99 (£360), this is among the costlier Thunderbolt 4 Docks. There are considerably cheaper choices, particularly in the event you don’t want 90W charging.
One other consideration is its bodily similarity to the Kensington SD7500T and useful equivalence to the OWC Thunderbolt Hub.
We’re not sure why you would possibly decide this one over these manufacturers until you discovered this one less expensive.
There isn’t something mistaken with this {hardware}, nevertheless it isn’t sufficiently totally different from different Thunderbolt 4 docks to make it stand out in an more and more crowded market.
If given a alternative, we’d most likely select the OWC Thunderbolt Dock over this purely on worth, however the prolonged guarantee of the Kensington design would possibly sway some.
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