Expanding Beyond the Box

Thunderbolt technology is amazing—the speed (up to 10Gb/s) and versatility (supporting high-resolution displays plus high-performance data devices through a single, compact port) make it clear that this is the next generation I/O technology, available today. But what about connecting existing FireWire® and eSATA peripherals, as well as high speed memory cards? Sonnet's Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter expands Thunderbolt connectivity to support more than just storage systems and monitors. This Sonnet adapter adds an ExpressCard/34 slot to any computer to which it's connected, enabling you to use a wide variety of ExpressCard/34 cards to add a range of interfaces and capabilities to your system. Plus, it's the fastest, least expensive SxS™ memory card reader available!

Imagine adding more FireWire ports or an eSATA interface through a single Thunderbolt adapter. Echo ExpressCard Pro allows you to choose your connections and add more to your setup. Because this adapter supports hot-swapping, you can select and change the ExpressCard to use as needed—it supports most Sonnet ExpressCard/34 cards (with a PCI Express interface), such as our FireWire interfaces, CompactFlash® and SDXC™ card readers, select eSATA controllers, and interface cards for our Qio™ CF4 and Qio E3 pro media readers. Echo ExpressCard Pro also supports specialty adapters like RME's HDSPe ExpressCard, plus interface cards for the AJA® io Express and the Matrox® MX02 family. Support for Sony® SxS memory cards simply requires the installation of Sony's latest SxS driver*.

Set up for this Thunderbolt adapter is simple—just connect it directly to your computer or at the end of a Thunderbolt device chain with a Thunderbolt cable (not included, sold at the Apple Store)—that's it. There's no software to install and no power supply to plug in. Plug the ExpressCard/34 card or SxS memory card into the adapter as you would into a notebook computer's ExpressCard slot, install software for the adapter if necessary, and you are ready to work.

Supports Ultimate Performance with PCIe 2.0 Interface for ExpressCard 2.0 Cards

Echo ExpressCard Pro Thunderbolt Adapter supports ExpressCard 2.0 cards at full bandwidth for the ultimate performance (for example, Sonnet's newest super-fast pro eSATA cards yield read/write speeds as high as 375 MB/s.) In addition, the adapter ingests footage from SxS memory cards at up to 150 MB/s. The Echo ExpressCard Pro Thunderbolt Adapter includes a 5-year warranty and gives you the additional connectivity you need, today.

Compatible Products

The following products have been tested and are compatible with Sonnet's Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter. Additional products will be added to the list as they add support for Thunderbolt technology.

1. PCIe 2.0 card which performs better in ECHOPRO-E34.
2. Requires restart.
3. When used with PCIe card compatible with Thunderbolt technology.
4. Tested with Mac OS X 10.6.8 and RME HDSPe ExpressCard.
5. When used with Sonnet FireWire 800 Pro ExpressCard/34.
6. Compatible with only ECHO-E34. Not compatible with ECHOPRO-E34.
7. P2 requires 32-bit boot.
8. "We were able to run at our lowest latency settings and even run two 24 channel consoles together on a signle 1394 connection all at 32 samples per buffer with no dropouts. We were seriously blown away by how well this worked." – PreSonus
9. When used with this Sonnet driver.