When comparing Sonnet Echo 15 Thunderbolt 2 vs OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock, the Slant community recommends OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock for most people. In the question“What are the best docks for a 15" Macbook Pro?” OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is ranked 1st while Sonnet Echo 15 Thunderbolt 2 is ranked 2nd. The most important reason people chose OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is:
The OWC dock has 12 ports. It has: five USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, FireWire 800, Ethernet, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and finally, and HDMI port. This is an impressive array of ports, more than any other Thunderbolt 2 dock on the market.
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Pros
Pro Multiple options as to the type of drive you want
You can get the Echo 15 with a DVD burner, Blu-Ray burner, or a Blu-Ray drive.
Pro Supports any modern hard drive
This dock uses an internal SATA connection so you can use a 3.5-inch drive or two 2.5-inch drives.
Pro Secures the Thunderbolt cable in
This dock offers the ThunderLok, which is a sleeve that fits over the Thunderbolt cable connector and secures it in place; making sure it does not fall out.
Pro Great array of ports
The OWC dock has 12 ports. It has: five USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, FireWire 800, Ethernet, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and finally, and HDMI port.
This is an impressive array of ports, more than any other Thunderbolt 2 dock on the market.
Pro Great read/write speeds
According to tests, the speed from the Tunderbolt 2 ports in OWC's dock were 323MBps, which is higher than the average of 321.4MBps for read and 262.9MBps vs 264MBps for write.
The read and write speeds for the USB 3 ports were also pretty good as well. 304.6MBps for read and 254.7MBps for write.
Pro The USB 3 ports provide really high total current
All five USB 3.0 ports provide a total of 6 amps (1.5 each of the two ports on the side and 1 for each of the ports on the back) , the OWC's dock's USB 3.0 ports provide a relatively high total current compared to other options. This makes it better suited for charging mobile devices than competitors.
Cons
Con Produces some noise
The Echo 15 is probably the only Thunderbolt 2 dock that has an internal fan. Even though it's pretty quiet, it's still noisier than other options which have no fan at all.