Sonnet Rolls Out Echo Express SE Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis ($400)

Sonnet Technologies Inc. announced the Echo Express SE, the newest member of the company’s Echo family of Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards.

The new device enables the use of a variety of PCIe adapter cards, originally designed for use in desktop computers, with any computer equipped with a Thunderbolt port.

The Echo Express SE was designed for users needing a simple way to connect an adapter card to their computers, and it supports the majority of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe cards.

Weighing 2.4 pounds and measuring 5.7 inches wide by 8.8 inches long by 2.9 inches tall, the SE is lighter and more compact than its siblings, yet its rugged aluminum case provides protection for the card.

The new chassis supports a single half-length (up to 6.5 inches long), full-height, single-width PCIe 2.0 x8 card and ships with an external 60W power supply.

Like the other Echo Express expansion chassis, the SE has dual Thunderbolt ports to support daisy-chaining of devices and features a temperature-controlled fan to help keep hot-running cards cool. When not needed, the fan slows down to a whisper. The SE also conserves energy by powering on and off with the computer to which it’s attached.

The Echo Express SE enables iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers equipped with a Thunderbolt port to use Thunderbolt-compatible professional video capture, audio interface, SAS and SATA HBA, 8Gb FC, 10GbE, and RAID controller cards.

The list of compatible cards is available on Sonnet’s website and is continually expanding as more cards are tested and certified. Like the other models in the Echo Express family, the SE was designed, engineered, and built by Sonnet in California.

"More compact than the Echo Express and Echo Express Pro, the Echo Express SE is ideal for use with half-length and single-width PCIe cards, and it is priced even more affordably," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "Now, more users than ever can take advantage of the groundbreaking performance of Thunderbolt technology using Sonnet’s Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards."

The Echo Express SE (part number ECHO-EXP-SE) is available for $399.95.