Sonnet Technologies today announced the Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock, the latest offering in the company’s popular Echo family of Thunderbolt docking stations and hubs. The new Echo dock features two 40 Gbps Thunderbolt ports, two internal M.2 NVMe SSD slots, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C ports, and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports. The Sonnet dock is compatible with all Thunderbolt 4 computers; all M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max Mac computers; all Thunderbolt 3 Mac and Windows computers; and iPad Pro tablets with a Thunderbolt port.
A Thunderbolt docking station provides users a central place to connect computer peripherals — such as storage and input devices, a monitor, etc. — instead of directly to a computer that may have fewer ports than necessary, or inconvenient port placement. An SSD-based Thunderbolt 3 external storage device provides users the fastest possible data transfers from a peripheral device. Sonnet’s Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock combines the benefits of a docking station and Thunderbolt-connected SSD storage, enabling users to connect to their peripheral devices and high-performance storage through a single Thunderbolt cable.
Why It’s Important:
Many thin and light notebook and laptop computers are designed with a focus on portability and aesthetics, sacrificing peripheral ports as a result and limiting the number of peripherals —including external storage devices — that can be plugged in. Sonnet’s Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock combines two of the most popular Thunderbolt peripherals sold — docking station and storage device — in a compact two-in-one device with a minimal desktop footprint measuring 6.8 inches wide by 3.4 inches deep by 1.8 inches tall.
The Sonnet dock enables users to connect as many as 10 additional devices at once (including one monitor), install two NVMe SSDs with up to 16 TB of storage capacity, and connect them all to a single computer port. With its mix of one 40 Gbps Thunderbolt peripheral port and four 10 Gbps USB ports, the Echo dock supports a vast array of computer peripherals at maximum performance. Single SSDs installed in the Echo dock can each achieve sustained data transfer of up to 1,500 MB/s. With two SSDs configured as a RAID 0 set for even greater performance, data transfers up to 3,000 MB/s are possible.
How It’s Distincitve:
The Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock’s dual M.2 SSD sockets enable users to purchase and install the SSDs — PCIe 3.0 or 4.0, single- or double-sided, with or without heatsink — best suited to meet their storage performance and capacity needs. For Mac computer users, there is an additional capability to install macOS on one SSD and use another SSD for file storage or as a Time Machine backup volume. The Echo Dock’s four 10 Gbps USB ports support most USB peripherals, including superfast USB NVMe SSDs at up to full speed, with each port providing up to 7.5 watts of power to ensure bus-powered devices will operate without fail.
The Echo Dock’s Thunderbolt peripheral port supports the daisy-chain connection of five additional Thunderbolt 3 devices, plus one 4K or 5K monitor or even the Apple Pro Display XDR. Thunderbolt 2 devices are also supported by macOS when used with an adapter (sold separately). For users needing to connect additional USB peripherals, the Echo Dock’s Thunderbolt peripheral port does double duty — it supports USB 3 devices (including monitors) when connected with the correct cable or adapter, even at the end of a Thunderbolt device chain.
Availability & Pricing
The Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock ( ECHO-DK2M2-TB) is available now from Sonnet and soon from channel partners worldwide at the suggested retail price of 349.99 USD.
