Hey Everyone,

I am looking at the Magma and Sonnet Thunderbolt expansion chassis for use with a UAD2 Octo card(s).

I've read that both of these units can be noisy, especially if you run cards that get hot.

Anyone know which is quieter and whether UAD2 Octo cards run relatively cool or hot?

M

I'm interested to know this to?
Which on do you like better and why?

From everything I've seen in these threads, the Sonnet seems much quieter than the Magma.

Which one did you get?
Cheers

I have the Sonnet which is very quiet.

Steve

Did you get the desktop version (Echo Express IIID) or the rack version (Echo Express IIIR)?

I have the Sonnet Echo Express SE II, and replaced the fan because it was too loud. The original Minebea 3106KL-04W-B30 fan was rated at 34dBa @ 32.8 CF/M. I measured it at 50dBa at about 1ft away.

I put a Noctua NF-R8 fan in my Sonnet chassis. Installation was just turning a couple of screws and popping a connector. There are 3 connectors on the fan, but just use the red and black wires. Alone, or using one of two low noise adapters, noise is spec'd:

17dBa @ 31 CF/M
10dBa @ 23 CF/M, or
7dBa @ 15 CF/M

10dBa was barely audible. 17dBa might work if you put it behind a baffle. Either are vastly better than the original spec, as the original fan made the Sonnet totally useless for studio work. I didn't try it in 7dBa mode.

The UAD Octo runs perfectly cool along with my RME HDSPe at the 23CF/M setting.

sure the Sonnet is quieter UNTIL the cards heat up then the fan kicks in.
they are both the same (having had both)

Thanks for the reply! I've been looking at the Sonnet Echo Express III because I'm considering upgrading to the 2013 Mac Pro. The fan noise is the one thing that concerns me.

Isn't it just shocking. For all the money you're expected to pay, they don't even try to make these chassis quiet (I have a Sonnet).

It wasn't cheap, that's for sure. And researching and replacing the fan was just a nuisance. If they're going to go after the audio market, they really should consider that noise is an issue. It works fine now, but I consider the fan upgrade to be necessary for any kind of audio work. The original fan made it useless to have in the room, even if you're not tracking.

OK 4 years later..... who is using the Sonnet Technologies Echo Express III-D - 3 PCIe Slot, Thunderbolt 2 Expansion Chassis

and how quiet is it?

over at Sweetwater the reviews seem to indicate that the Sonnet Technologies Echo Express III-D is quieter than the similar Magma chassis.

would be using it with HDX-1 or HDX-2

thanks

Bump — I need this answer too. I didn’t even know these things made noise until this thread. Life ...

Have the sonnet and it’s loud. I put mine in a closet and that solved it.

It's been hard to get a true picture of the Sonnet's noise level (or Magma for that matter) ...all I read are contrasting opinions.

I have both a Sonnet 2 slot pcie to TBolt2 chassis and a Magma pci 4 slot to pcie chassis. Both have fans that are too loud to have anywhere in your mix area. You must either replace the fans with a quieter fan or disconnect them, or put them in your machine room, which brings up cabling issues. I just disconnected my fans so I can keep my cable runs short.

Ugh, thanks. I just reluctantly upgraded my Apogee Symphony to MKII due only to the maddening noisy fans. It's disheartening to hear that this problem is plaguing these too.

Since my last post a got a Magma and you can turn off the fans on it, so it's dead silent. Unfortunately, PCI expanders don't work with Motu audiowire cards, which is the reason a got it. Upgrading a computer is always more than upgrading a computer

I have an Echo Express SEL, the smallest and so called "quietest" TB3 chassis on my desktop, but it is not quiet. At all. I need to change the fan in it or somehow completely turning it off. I am using it with a Sonnet 2 port USB C USB card. So nothing fancy.

Any experience with this small affordable TB3 chassis?

By the way I removed the fan completely, it is now dead silent and do not feel any warming at all. Yet. It runs quite a few hours ago now.

Updates?!

I'm looking for a thunderbolt 3 enclosure for my UAD Octo and am a bit confused. Do I really need a 3-slot version to run the Octo ?
Are there alternatives that work well?

Why would you need three slots for a single card? The sonnet TB3 units work well. I have an RME card in mine with the fan unplugged.

D

I only need 1 card now, but their support sheet tells that the quad and Octo use to much power for 1 PCIe slot at 3.3V. So you would need a 2-slot at least, but these are not available anymore meaning it would be a 3-slot.

And that's hugely expensive for 1 card. So I'm curious if people have experience with an Octo in the SE I enclosure.

And maybe with 2 Octo cards in the SE IIId/e? That would at least give me room to expand if I really need the SE III.

Same here. RME PCIe inside a Sonnet chassis.

The card doesn’t get hot anyway but you could always replace the internal fan with a Noctua, they make them as small as 4x4 cm. Alternatively you could direct one or two 12cm fans at the enclosure from the outside.

Wait... so if I have two UAD octo cards, I need one chassis for each of my cards? Is that what I'm understanding? Please tell me I have misunderstood.

Also... anyone have a solution for running two of those cards silently? OR... is it possible to get a Thunderbolt 4 extension cable that can go 25-30 feet?

Thanks.

I have an AKiTiO Node Duo, and it can run 2 Octo cards. I have it with 1 Octo and a drive currently and unplugged the fan connector. The UAD cards barely produce heat. Am running it like this for almost 3 years now. Dead-silent, no issues.

But 25-30 feet on a TB3 cable, not possible without active hubs in between. And given that Apple charges 179 Euro for a 3 meter cable, I don't even want to know what a potential 10 meter cable would cost.

Well if you’re telling me that the whole affair is dead silent, I won’t need a long cable after all! I am planning on replacing my fourteen year old Mac Pro with a Mac Mini and imagined that it would be quiet enough to have in the studio with me.

I have a MacStudio M1 Max, the one that some people complained about as they had some issues with the fan noise. Mine, I do not hear at all. The MacMini is even more quiet, I don't think it even has a fan.

Worst case, if your room is too hot, you can easily fit a silent fan in the case to the enclosure. But I really doubt you'd need it. Mine survived heat waves without having an airco in the studio

Interesting. Good to know.

To give you a sense of how quiet my room is… the base noise level usually measures around 25dBSPL. I can hear when my preamps are on. Same with comps and EQs.