Trying to decide between these two. Haven't found independent reviews of either (though there are lots for the Sabrent Thunderbolt 3 Dual NVMe Docking Station, which looks identical to the SIIG except that it comes with SSDs).
Anyone have experience with either (or with either of the companies?):
1) SIIG Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Dual M.2 NVMe
www.siig.com
2) Sonnet Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock:
www.sonnettech.com
Market price on the two is about the same. For me, the main advantage of the SIIG is that, unlike the Sonnet, it's fanless.* The other advantage of the SIIG is port selection: It has both TB and DP outs, so I could drive two monitors if I wanted. [The Sonnent has only one video-capable out, a TB port.]
The main advantage of the Sonnet is that it's built specifically with the Mac in mind, so I don't have to worry about any compatability issues. There may be some with the SIIG**. Plus the SIIG has been out for a while, while the Sonnet was just released, so it may use newer tech, and thus be more likely to continue to work when I eventually replace my 2019 iMac with an M-series Mac.
My two main questions are: (a) Is one more glitchy than the other on both Intel and M-series Macs? Thunderbolt docks on Macs can have issues involving waking from sleep, dock not recognized, etc.***, so I obviously want the one that is more likely to be trouble-free. (b) How loud is the Sonnet?
Other potential differences you can't tell from the specs:
--Do both have the same range of compatability with SSDs (one of the non-certified enclosures [ACASIS] works better with some SSD's than others, according to ACASIS itself)?
--Will both will give the same SSD speeds (they should, unless the SIIG needs to throttle with extended transfers)
--Does one company give better customer support and tech support than the other?
*The Sonnet people claim their fan is quiet, but they're not unbiased. Reviews of older Sonnet products complained about the noise, to the extent that people were either disconnecting the fan, or swapping it with a Noctua. OTOH, I recall reading a review of a newer Sonnet product saying it has a Noctua fan, so maybe Sonnet wised up. But I don't know what fan is in this one, and it's small (40 mm?), and those tend to be audible.
**According to Sabrent, their (seemingly identical) Thunderbolt 3 Dual NVMe Docking Station only has full function on Intel. They don't say what functionality it loses on Apple Silicon but, according to this review, it's the ability to do RAID 0 (not that I would want to do RAID, but it speaks to potential compatability when I eventually upgrade my iMac to Apple Silicon; though the reviewer thought everything else was fine).
https://petapixel.com/2022/04/05/sa...tb-docking-station-storage-first-dock-second/
***Reports of issues with various TB docks on Macs:
Caldigit TS4:
https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-dock-sleep-mode-related-issues-under-macos-12/
Belkin TB3 docking stations (various):
www.belkin.com
OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock:
discussions.apple.com
Caldigit TS3 and Sonnet Echo 11:
Anyone have experience with either (or with either of the companies?):
1) SIIG Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Dual M.2 NVMe
Thunderbolt 3 DP 1.4 8K Docking Station with Dual M.2 NVMe SSD & 96W Power Delivery, support 4K 144Hz resolution
Advanced docking station transforms a single Thunderbolt 3 port into one Thunderbolt 3 port, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type A/C ports, two USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A with BC 1.2 charging ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD memory card reader
www.siig.com
2) Sonnet Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock:
Echo Dual NVMe Thunderbolt Dock - SONNETTECH
Thunderbolt docking station with two M.2 NVMe SSD slots, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) ports, and up to 5K display support. For Mac, Windows, and iPad Pro.
www.sonnettech.com
Market price on the two is about the same. For me, the main advantage of the SIIG is that, unlike the Sonnet, it's fanless.* The other advantage of the SIIG is port selection: It has both TB and DP outs, so I could drive two monitors if I wanted. [The Sonnent has only one video-capable out, a TB port.]
The main advantage of the Sonnet is that it's built specifically with the Mac in mind, so I don't have to worry about any compatability issues. There may be some with the SIIG**. Plus the SIIG has been out for a while, while the Sonnet was just released, so it may use newer tech, and thus be more likely to continue to work when I eventually replace my 2019 iMac with an M-series Mac.
My two main questions are: (a) Is one more glitchy than the other on both Intel and M-series Macs? Thunderbolt docks on Macs can have issues involving waking from sleep, dock not recognized, etc.***, so I obviously want the one that is more likely to be trouble-free. (b) How loud is the Sonnet?
Other potential differences you can't tell from the specs:
--Do both have the same range of compatability with SSDs (one of the non-certified enclosures [ACASIS] works better with some SSD's than others, according to ACASIS itself)?
--Will both will give the same SSD speeds (they should, unless the SIIG needs to throttle with extended transfers)
--Does one company give better customer support and tech support than the other?
*The Sonnet people claim their fan is quiet, but they're not unbiased. Reviews of older Sonnet products complained about the noise, to the extent that people were either disconnecting the fan, or swapping it with a Noctua. OTOH, I recall reading a review of a newer Sonnet product saying it has a Noctua fan, so maybe Sonnet wised up. But I don't know what fan is in this one, and it's small (40 mm?), and those tend to be audible.
**According to Sabrent, their (seemingly identical) Thunderbolt 3 Dual NVMe Docking Station only has full function on Intel. They don't say what functionality it loses on Apple Silicon but, according to this review, it's the ability to do RAID 0 (not that I would want to do RAID, but it speaks to potential compatability when I eventually upgrade my iMac to Apple Silicon; though the reviewer thought everything else was fine).
https://petapixel.com/2022/04/05/sa...tb-docking-station-storage-first-dock-second/
***Reports of issues with various TB docks on Macs:
Caldigit TS4:
https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-dock-sleep-mode-related-issues-under-macos-12/
Belkin TB3 docking stations (various):
Belkin Official Support - macOS + Thunderbolt Docking Station Issue: External Display & Sleep Mode
Get help with macOS + Thunderbolt Docking Station Issue: External Display & Sleep Mode
www.belkin.com
More on Thunderbolt 3 Dock problems - Apple Community
Last edited: