Sonnet Echo 20 Superdock Review
Thunderbolt Docks are a great way to connect your laptop to a variety of devices and peripherals. The Sonnet Echo 20 Superdock is Sonnet's largest dock ever with the most ports they've ever had in a dock. It builds upon the Echo 11 dock and even adds some new features that aren't typically found in thunderbolt docks: a slot for a NVME SSD and RCA audio output jacks.
Disclaimer - Sonnet did send me this dock for free for purposes of making this review. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own - they have no say in the content of this video and post.Design
The Echo 20 is designed for someone who wants to build out a desktop setup with tons of I/O for their MacBook, mac mini, or mac studio. The back of the dock has a power connector, HDMI 2.1 port that supports up to 8k 60hz, a 100watt thunderbolt in, 2 thunderbolt 4 outs, 2.5Gigabit internet, 4 USB port 3.2 gen 2 ports two in USB A and two in USB C form, audio out in RCA Left and right and a 1/8” microphone jack.
The front of the dock has a headset jack, 4 more USB ports, and an SD 4.0 slot that supports UHS II faster speeds of SD cards. Underneath the dock there is a slot with a cover you have to unscrew for the NVME drive. Sonnet has a list of drives that have been tested with this dock and it can support up to 8TB which is still a little uncommon for NVME drives. Unfortunately the NVME slot only supports speeds up to 800MBPS and the speeds will depend on your computer as well as the drive used, but I talked to the engineers at sonnet and they had to limit the speed due to the total amount of bandwidth that this dock is able to provide. It’s still really fast, but just not as fast as a thunderbolt NVME enclosure could be working at top speeds. Most users will find it great for use as an archive drive, or for Time Machine purposes to backup your hard drive. NVME drives are getting super affordable and I’ve been really liking the Samsung EVO 970 plus with it.
Performance
I tested a variety of external RAID drives, audio interfaces, and other devices and all of the ports work super well. The 100 watts of power through the cable has had no problem keeping up with my 14” MacBook Pro. UHS slot on the front has worked great for offloading files, i get the same speeds running any external storage as i do with it plugged straight into my computer.
Pros:
A lot of ports and connection options
Well-built and sturdy
100 watts of power delivery
Thunderbolt port is on the back for a clean setup
Works well with a variety of devices
Supports an NVME SSD
Has RCA audio output jacks
2.5 Gb ethernet port is great but most routers and switches don’t support it
Cons:
Large and heavy
Expensive
NVME slot is limited to 800MBPS
No power button
Hard drive doesn't eject automatically
Only has 2 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports
Pricing
The Sonnet Echo 20 Superdock costs $300. It is available for purchase on the Sonnet website and at select retailers.
Compared to Other Docking Stations
The Echo 20 Superdock is a great option for anyone who needs a lot of ports and connectivity options. It is well-built, sturdy, and works well with a variety of devices. However, it is also large, heavy, and expensive. If you don't need all of the ports that the Echo 20 Superdock offers, you may want to consider a less expensive option, such as the Sonnet Echo 11. If you compare this to the Caldigit TS4, this is more affordable and has the NVME slot and additional ports.
Overall, I highly recommend the Sonnet Echo 20 Superdock for anyone who needs a lot of ports and connectivity options. It's a great choice for photographers, videographers, and other creative professionals.
I hope this review was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.
