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Sonnet's new Echo 5 Thunderbolt 4 hub provides not just more downstream Thunderbolt ports to modern Macs, but also a fast USB-A port for older peripherals.
The Echo 5 hub features four Thunderbolt 4 ports, with one connecting to the host computer. The rear of the device has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the power socket. The front features one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A port capable of speeds up to 10 gigabits per second while providing 7.5 watts of power, and one Thunderbolt 3 port that connects to the host.
Sonnet's hub delivers up to 85 watts of charging power to the host device, and is compatible with all computers with Thunderbolt 4 ports. This includes all of the Apple Silicon Macs, all Mac computers with Thunderbolt 3 ports running macOS Big Sur or macOS Monterey, and iPad Pro models with a Thunderbolt port.
On Apple's M1 Max or M1 Pro machines including the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the Echo 5 hub can connect up to two 5K displays or a single display at 8K resolution. Apple's M1 lineup including the Mac mini, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac can support one display at up to 6K resolution.
External monitor support and resolution varies across the Intel MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 port lineup.
When used with an iPad Pro with a Thunderbolt port, the Echo hub provides users the capability to connect multiple devices to the tablet at the same time, while also charging it at full power. Users may also connect a single display with resolutions up to 6K to mirror the content on the iPad's built-in display.
The Echo 5 Thunderbolt 4 Hub is available now from Sonnet at the suggested retail price of $199.99.
This looks to be exactly what I was looking for (2 LG 5K display support)! Only concern is that it only supports 85W while the M1Max computer can peak up to 110W.
I use a less than 100w USBC charger regularly with my m1max 16. And while it isn't as fast, when I am plugged in, I do not care. It'll be fine
Sounds pretty good, similar to the Caldigit Element - it seems to sacrifice 2 USB-A ports for dual 5K vs the Caldigit dual 4K. Hope the build quality is good. I have a Caldigit Element but can see me possibly buying one of these to have two hubs plugged into an M1 Max MBP to provide 4 additional Thunderbolt 4 ports.
I just looked further and dual 5K may not be supported on current Apple Silicon Macs with this hub: https://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/manuals/Thunderbolt_4_Dock_Compatibility.pdf Weirdly it does seem to state 2x Pro Display XDR or 4K with no mention of 5K for M1 Pro/Max.
This hub is like OWC's 4-port Thunderbolt hub. It also says it can drive two 4K displays and costs $20 less. The Sonnett hub will also have limitations when connecting too many devices that want to use as much of the TB bandwidth as possible. I've seen questions about using a hub like this to create a RAID using three NVMe external drives and software RAID. It might be fun to try but I wouldn't expect the full 5000Mb/s TB3 bandwidth. This hub will be used to connect multiple devices that don't require simultaneous use. I'd love to be proved wrong but I only have a 2020 M1 MBA to test with and it has Thunderbolt limitations.
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