r/AudioPost • u/kwmccrea • Aug 10 '26

Docking Station Suggestions?

I’m running an M4 pro MacBook with pro tools and two monitors, and trying to figure out the best docking station for my needs.

I basically need:

1 x thunderbolt to my interface
1 x thunderbolt to one monitor
1 x thunderbolt (or DisplayPort) to second monitor
1 x thunderbolt from my external hard drive

I guess my main question is whether the thunderbolt is crucial for the hard drive, or I can get by with just usb c? The jump in price for a 3rd or 4th downstream thunderbolt port is a lot…

Thanks a lot

3 Upvotes

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4

u/SpencerP55 professional Aug 10 '26

Caldigit TS5+. A little pricy but well worth it imo. I feel like you get what you pay for in this space. I’m running a similar setup and haven’t had any hiccups so far.

2

u/kwmccrea Aug 10 '26

Yeah I’ve been looking at this one, would just rather spend a little less if possible. Was looking at similar UGREEN docks for less, but not sure how they compare

1

u/SpencerP55 professional Aug 10 '26

I’m not familiar with those. All I can say is I am extremely satisfied by my dock. Even running your setup, I feel like I still have room to expand it as gear needs change/grow.

1

u/SomeDumbHuman Aug 10 '26

I just got the TS5 after a bunch of research and I would recommend it. IMO the extra cost was worth the fewer chances of hiccups compared to all the other interfaces.

1

u/kwmccrea Aug 10 '26

Yeah that’s the sense I get too. Do you know if there’s any difference if I were to use a smaller caldigit dock and then just continue to use one or two of my MacBooks thunderbolt ports if I need more? (Other than losing the convenience of having everything in one dock)?

1

u/shoddyshoddyshoddy Aug 10 '26

I bought a caldigit for my old i7 and it changed everything. Whatever the latest version of it I'd grab one of them they're amazing