Are you a creative pro using one of the latest portable, mini desktop or all-in-one computers in your workflow? By now, you’ve discovered onboard processing power alone is not enough to get the job done. While these Mac®, Windows®, and Linux® computers include high-performance Thunderbolt™ ports to support peripherals, they lack PCIe® expansion slots necessary to install specialty cards that add needed video and audio inputs, transcode data, and connect to high-speed shared storage and networks.
Sonnet has the ultimate solution for cards with high bandwidth requirements — Echo™ II DV Desktop — a professional Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion system that enables you to connect two up to full-length (12.28 inches long), single-width PCIe cards to your computer, each to a separate Thunderbolt port (if needed) for maximum bandwidth to each card.
Some computers — such as the latest MacBook Pro®, Mac Studio®, Mac mini® and iMac® — have multiple Thunderbolt ports that are supported by separate 40Gbps Thunderbolt buses and provide up to 2880 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth to each port. Among multi-slot Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion systems, the Sonnet Echo II DV Desktop is unique. Instead of using one Thunderbolt interface for two or three slots — which dynamically allocates the PCIe bandwidth between them — Echo II DV employs one interface per slot. With each slot getting Thunderbolt’s full PCIe bandwidth, you can exploit two cards’ full potential when connected at the same time to separate Thunderbolt buses on the computer, ideal for cards with high bandwidth requirement such as DV I/O, NVMe SSD storage, and 10 and 25Gb Ethernet adapters.
By employing a separate Thunderbolt interface for each card slot, Echo II DV is designed to provide full PCIe bandwidth to each slot when connected to two computer Thunderbolt ports that also have independent PCIe bandwidth. Computers with independent PCIe bandwidth to two or more Thunderbolt ports include all Apple silicon (M series) Macs, and Intel Macs or PCs with three or four Thunderbolt ports. (A few Pro PC laptops with only two Thunderbolt ports support independent PCIe Bandwidth. Check your computer’s specifications.) Computers that share PCIe bandwidth between their Thunderbolt ports, that would provide only shared bandwidth to the two slots, include Intel Macs or PCs with only two Thunderbolt ports.
with any M series Mac and a few Pro Thunderbolt 4 PCs
with Intel Macs or PCs with 3 or 4 Thunderbolt Ports
Does your computer have only one available Thunderbolt port? Because each PCIe card slot’s Thunderbolt interface includes two Thunderbolt ports, you can connect the interfaces together in a daisy chain to enable Echo II DV Desktop to connect to your computer with a single Thunderbolt cable.
with Intel Macs or PCs with only Two Thunderbolt Ports
Plugged into one or two of your computer’s Thunderbol ports, the Echo II DV Desktop system enables you to connect two up to full-height, single-width professional PCIe cards.
Echo II DV Desktop supports every Thunderbolt compatible, single-width, non-GPU PCIe 4.0, 3.1, 2.0, and 1.1 card available including video capture, streaming and transcoding; SSD storage; audio DSP; 10Gb or 25Gb Ethernet; SAS or SATA host bus adapter; and other specialty types to your system.
Do you have a card in mind but aren’t sure it’s compatible? We’ve put together a compatibility list that identifies cards conforming to Thunderbolt technology requirements and organized by fit and power compatibility with specific expansion systems.
Connects two high-performance non-GPU PCIe cards via one or two Thunderbolt cables to your computer lacking expansion slots.
One interface per slot supports full PCIe bandwidth to each installed card, enabling maximum performance at the same time.
Two ports connect to computer for maximum performance; secondary ports support daisy-chaining of Thunderbolt interfaces to enable single-cable connection to computer.
Every Thunderbolt compatible, single-width, non-GPU card supported regardless of length or height.
Two x16 slots support two full-height, single-width cards.
Dual temperature-controlled, variable-speed Noctua fans rated at 17dBA automatically and quietly cool the cards.
Supports full PCIe bandwidth for each installed card. Learn more about Thunderbolt 3 performance benefits over Thunderbolt 4.
Provides robust and secure protection.
Supports M series Macs (with PCIe cards that have compatible drivers).
Supports Intel Macs with Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Supports Windows computers with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Supports Linux computers with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Echo II DV Desktop features two x16 PCIe slots, enabling it to support a wide variety of cards. To support power-hungry cards, it integrates a universal 400W power supply and includes dual 75W auxiliary power connectors (one for each card slot) for non-GPU cards that require extra power, including AJA® Kona® 5, Blackmagic DeckLink 8K Pro, Bluefish444 Epoch and KRONOS SDI cards, and Avid Pro Tools | HDX. Designed without a power switch, Echo II DV powers on and off automatically with the connected computer, saving energy in the long run. With no power switch, you can’t forget to turn off the system!
Featuring dual Noctua fans, Echo II DV is designed to deliver ultra-quiet operation so that it can be comfortably used in noise-sensitive environments. Rated at 17.1dBA — below the 20dBA ceiling prescribed for use in recording and broadcast studios — the fans spread the spectrum of their noise to minimize the impact at any single frequency. To further ensure negligible noise levels, the fans are temperature-controlled, automatically speeding up and slowing down smoothly as needed, and the enclosure is engineered to optimize airflow over the installed cards to effectively and efficiently cool the system.
Sonnet includes two Thunderbolt cables that support Thunderbolt’s full 40Gbps bandwidth and are fully compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 computers. Sonnet also provides two ThunderLok™ 3 Thunderbolt connector retainer clips that prevent accidental cable disconnections — just slide one over one end of the cable, and then plug in the connector and secure it to the chassis by turning a thumbscrew. Because of its unique design, ThunderLok remains on the cable so it won’t get lost when not in use.
Sonnet Thunderbolt expansion systems are designed with Thunderbolt ports that include threaded mounting holes for securing Sonnet ThunderLok retainer clips that prevent accidental cable disconnections.
Echo II DV Desktop features dual 40Gbps Thunderbolt interfaces – one for each slot – that deliver up to 2880 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth, enabling each slot to support 4K video capture and processing cards at high frame rates, audio DSPs, and 25GbE and dual-port 10GbE network cards at full performance.
Compatible with Apple M series Macs
see Tech Specs for details
Choose between Echo II DV Rackmount and Echo II DV Desktop to suit your workflow needs. Echo II DV Rackmount mounts in a rack space 2U tall, and is only 16.5 inches deep, making it ideal for use in a wide range of popular mobile racks, carts, and rack cases, and in server rooms as well. Echo II DV Rackmount even offers space for an optional expansion module.
Echo II DV Module – the heart of the Echo II DV Desktop and Echo II DV Rackmount – is also available as part of xMac™ Studio, the Sonnet 3U rackmount enclosure with Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion system for Mac Studio computers. Combine the power of an Echo II DV Rackmount with an xMac Studio/Echo II DV to connect four bandwidth-hungry PCIe cards to a Mac Studio, each to a separate Thunderbolt port for maximum bandwidth to each card.
Echo II DV Module is compatible with our DuoModo™ family of modular Thunderbolt expansion systems, comprised of interchangeable modules for PCIe cards, a Mac mini mounting system (with integrated 40Gbps Thunderbolt storage dock), and desktop and rackmount enclosures so you can quickly and easily interchange modules depending on your workflow.
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