TS5 PLUS - Thunderbolt 5 Dock - 20 Port, 10Gb Ethernet, 140W dedicated host Charging, TBT-5 x 3, USB 10Gb/s x10, Dual USB Controllers, Up to Two 8K 60Hz Displays, 1.0m Braided Cable, 330W PSU

The CalDigit TS5 has been a fantastic dock and has replaced my UGREEN USB-C hub. I use two 1440p monitors with my M4 MacBook Air, and I wanted proper resolution and refresh rates from both. The UGREEN hub worked well with one monitor, but not both. I use iPhone Mirroring and can connect my phone to the front port when I need faster speeds. I also use an external USB4 (40Gbps) SSD, which is why I needed three downstream Thunderbolt ports. The TS5 is a Thunderbolt 5 dock, while my laptop has Thunderbolt 4. I plan to eventually move to a MacBook Pro that will likely support Thunderbolt 5, and the price difference at the time made more sense than buying the TS4. One caveat: my external USB4 SSD initially behaved oddly. Updating the TS5 firmware seemed to fix that issue. With both 1440p displays connected through the dock, though, SSD write speed drops significantly. Connected directly to my MacBook Air, it reaches about 2,383 MB/s write and 3,141 MB/s read. Through the TS5, it drops to about 402 MB/s write and 2,666 MB/s read. The drive still works, but the docked setup clearly limits write performance. For anything that needs fast external-SSD writes, I connect the drive directly to the MacBook. To be fair, this is the only limitation I have run into. The TS5 has otherwise been fantastic, handling both 1440p monitors reliably and replacing several separate adapters with one clean setup. The SSD is also still completely usable through the dock for everyday files and media. I only need to connect it directly to the MacBook when write speed matters.

I have had this dock for about three weeks, and it does everything it promises to do. The Thunderbolt 5 ports work exceptionally well. All of the charging ports provide their specified charging power. The audio port is exceptional. It's the first dock audio port that transmits high-quality sound. The 10 GbE Thunderbolt 5 Ethernet port is an exceptional value. The USB ports all perform as expected. The DP 2.1 DisplayPort will support nearly any level of monitor. This dock will easily support three 4k displays via the two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports, which are DisplayPort 2.1 compatible. The downstream Thunderbolt 5 port will charge a laptop with 140W of power. Unlike any other dock, this one will charge everything you can connect to it at full power. It has two 36W USB-C charging ports. They charge my Samsung S24 Ultra very quickly. This dock has enough power to provide full charging capacity out of every single port even IF you have you are charging an accessory on every single port. There is NO other Thunderbolt dock on the market that will do that. ALL of the Thunderbolt 5 docks I have researched will not charge your computer at 140W if you're charging other accessories (like a phone, an iPad, a portable charging power bank, etc. This is the only dock on the market that doesn't have "dynamic charging." In other words, the more you plug into other docks, the slower everything charges, including your laptop. This dock charges EVERYTHING at full speed, no matter how many items you have plugged into it. The two card readers are super fast. They are so fast that you could use a 1 TB CF card as storage. I haven't had a single problem with this dock. Everything in this dock is state-of-the-art and cutting-edge, and ALL of its features work flawlessly. It's hands down the best dock on the market right now. This actually stunned me when I got the dock and was testing every function. Because it is so expensive, if any major feature had been buggy or failed to perform as advertised I would have returned it. But everything worked amazingly well on the dock. When you consider it includes a 10GbE Thunderbolt 5 ethernet port, which will provide LAN internet speeds of nearly 10 Gbps, it is an exceptional value. A separate Thunderbolt 5 10 GbE adapter would cost $200-$1000. This is the best dock you can buy right now, bar none.

This docking station is the best I’ve ever used. I had a Corsair docking station before, but it had some issues that caused sudden disconnects from my ultra-wide monitor. Now, with this docking station, all those problems have been resolved. I can plug in my MacBook and Windows laptop without any issues. It’s great to have all the extra ports so I can connect all my personal and work peripherals to my computer with just one cable. Plus, it’s quiet; I haven’t noticed any noticeable noise coming from it.

At first glance, this looks like the perfect product — well-designed and feature-rich. Unfortunately, real-world use tells a different story. After running it for more than 24 hours, the connection to my MacBook Pro M5 Max drops intermittently for a few seconds. When this happens, the network interface goes down and does not recover on its own — the only fix is to physically disconnect and reconnect the cable. This is not a minor annoyance; it disrupts work entirely. I contacted support, and they confirmed this is a known driver issue, which means it is not an isolated defect but a systemic problem affecting the product as a whole. That acknowledgment is appreciated, but it does not justify selling a device at this price point while the core functionality remains broken. To make matters worse, the unit runs extremely hot during normal use — hot enough that you cannot comfortably hold your hand on the body for more than a few seconds. That raises legitimate questions about long-term reliability and safety. Bottom line: Until the driver issue is resolved, this device is significantly overpriced and does not deliver the value it promises. Buyer beware.

This is a solid upgrade from the TS4. The DisplayPort has changed from 1.4 to 2.1. Ethernet moving to 10Gb is very nice, although they went cheap on the 10Gb controller this time – it's an Aquantia AQC113 – connected through PCIe via Thunderbolt at least, not a USB-attached solution. (The TS4 used a PCIe-attached Intel I226V for 2.5Gb.) I'm able to get very close to the theoretical max speed over the 10GbE using iperf3 to another 10Gb device on my home network (through a Cisco Cat3850 switch). First picture is "iperf3 -c [server] -Z -P 4" from the Mac (client sends traffic); second pic is "iperf3 -c [server] -Z -P 4 -R" from the Mac ("reverse" mode, where server does the transmission). The laptop is just displaying some static webpages and running Slack/etc during the test, nothing should be chewing bandwidth. Note that I'm not quite hitting the expected 9.4Gbps when the Mac is sending, but I do when the server sends. I actually have two very similar "servers," both running Linux and with Intel C3758 CPUs (with Intel X540/X553 NICs onboard), and the results are nearly identical with both servers. I thought this might be due to the Atom CPU on the systems, but I would expect lower performance if the server was *sending*, but I see the inverse. When the Mac transmits is where it's topping off at 8.7Gbps, the only explanation I have is maybe macOS is performing QoS or "reserving" bandwidth for something, or the AQC driver is flaky, maybe a Thunderbolt bottleneck (my Mac is only TB4, not TB5), or possibly something with the ethernet cabling involved (it's only Cat5E, but it's relatively short and it links at 10Gb and there are no errors on the switch). 🤷‍♂️ My monitors/displays have worked perfectly. I have a pair of Dell U3223QE (4K/60), and I connect one to the DisplayPort output, and use a USB-C connection (which is DP over USB-C) for the other. Both are detected correctly by macOS and are running at 60Hz. My Mac is an "M1 Pro" CPU which supports two external displays through the dock, plus the laptop's screen. Like the TS4, both front and rear output jacks are *variable* (software controlled); there is no fixed "line out." I have speakers with their own volume knob, and I dislike attaching a variable device to a variable source and having multiple ways to change volume. To work around this, I have my speakers connected to one of my displays (which have fixed audio-out jacks) - both the DP2.1 and the DP-over-USB-C monitors have functional audio outputs when connected to the TS5+ (they are displayed as output sinks in macOS). I was having some problems with the TS5 Plus's audio jacks today which spurred me to write this review - they simply weren't showing up in macOS when I attached headphones to them, both the front and rear output jacks. While troubleshooting I realized there was yet another firmware update for the dock - I've now installed two (shipped with 60.1 -> 61.1 -> 62.1) in the 3 weeks I've owned it! After updating the firmware, along with the separate "USB-PD firmware", the TS5+'s audio-out jacks started working. I have no clue if one of the two firmwares fixed the problem, or if it was simply power-cycling the dock alone (part of the update process). The main/Thunderbolt firmware update process is mildly annoying as it does not provide any status about what is going on, and it may shut off the USB-A ports on the dock while it's happening (my wired keyboard got shut off). Contrary to what the firmware instructions tell you, I had no problems updating firmware in macOS with both of my monitors attached, but neither of them are Thunderbolt devices (maybe that makes a difference). Helpful tip: to get status on the main firmware update, open the macOS "Console" app, click the "start" button to begin the log firehose, and then type "Thunderbolt" up in the search box (might have to hit enter afterwards). You'll see an endless stream of messages as the firmware is being written to the dock, and eventually they'll stop streaming in and the dock will reboot itself when the update is complete. This dock runs quite warm, although never hot enough to burn. I have mine "sideways;" standing vertically may help with cooling since more of the fins would be exposed but it would be tight under my displays if I went vertical. It is taller (or in my case, "wider") than the TS4. Annoyingly, the port layout is also "flipped" from the TS4, so the power & ethernet are on the opposite side from the TS4 and the Thunderbolt upstream / host port is also moved. If you have a very specific cable layout this could be problematic for you. The included TB5 cable *is* a little bit longer than the TB4 cable that comes with the TS4 though, so this helps. The "space black" color is nice if you have a matching Macbook, but mine is silver... and Space Black makes it *very* hard to read the labels printed on the dock, especially if you're not looking straight-on at the dock or if it is in any sort of shadow. Sitting under my monitors with my office's (residential) lighting, I can hardly even read the logo on the front of the dock. I wish they had used a white or light gray print. To corroborate what others have said - the power supply seems to suffer from coil whine. I only hear it if I get about 1-2 feet away from it though, and right now I have the PSU down on the floor so it's not bothering me. The whine is sort of a cyclical pitch shifting noise (almost like a siren) so it would be severely annoying if I could hear it regularly. The TS5+ dock itself is silent to my ears, only the PSU has whine. I'm in my mid-40s but was in music in high school and have tried to take care of my hearing; YMMV. [EDIT 2025-08-28] I contacted support about the coil whine, and they said this is a known issue in some of the power supply units. They are working on an improved version with the PSU manufacturer, and asked for my shipping address. They told me they would send out a new PSU once they are available. I asked if they would send a label to collect the "noisy" one, and they said that I would be welcome to keep it as a spare - this is a really nice gesture! "A+" support. Overall, it's a solid product. [EDIT] If I could rate it 4.5 stars, I would, especially after support said there's a fix coming for the coil whine. It loses "points" for the nearly-unreadable legends/glyphs due to "black on dark gray," and for not using a higher quality NIC - Intel or Broadcom would've been preferable at this price point. If you want to have 10Gb Ethernet on your dock and you don't want a separate, bulky, external adapter connected to it, the TS5 Plus makes sense. If you think you're going to want "portable" 10GbE, it might be more logical to just stick with the (lower-priced, especially if you can find one used or on sale) TS4, and add a separate Thunderbolt 10Gb interface, especially since then you have a bit more choice for Ethernet chipset (I believe Sonnet has at least one offering with Intel NICs, although it appears that several of theirs along with OWC are using Aquantia chips now as well).

This thing is a beast. Fantastic build quality, and has all the power you need for a hub. It’s a good size, about the size of portable hard drive. Multiple 4k screens, 4K capture card, SSD external, and a few accessories (microphone, cricut machine). Takes it all like a champ. One thunderbolt cable to my MacBook is all that’s needed. Pricey, but it’s worth it if you need to power multiple accessories that are bandwidth heavy.

I got this as I am a full time remote worker. I use this for both my work laptop (windows), and my Macbook pro. There are plenty of Thunderbolt connections on the back, it's easy to set up, the build qualityis good as it's built out of aluminum. It can get fairly hot, I don't keep it under my monitor riser for that reason. For the most part, compatibility is fine. My dell laptop doesn't recognize the TS5+ as a full power charger. Dell laptops use a proprietary charging handshake/protocol so the TS5+ will only charge the laptop at 90w. This is a problem with Dell in my opinion. For the most part 90W is plenty for keeping my precision 5770 topped up.

I've been a Mac user forever, and someone who is happy to invest in my desk setup. But unlike most desk setup enthusiasts, I'm more of a minimalist. If it doesn't contribute to a beautiful, minimal aesthetic or have an essential function, I avoid in favor of "free space". So while I've always been an enjoyer of these CalDigit hubs from afar, there has never had a practical reason to justify one. I recently got the new MBP with M5 Pro and a Studio Display XDR. I learned that Macs cut power to peripherals when they sleep, and this is not a setting you can modify. For 90% of peripherals, this is fine. For my keyboard, it means the settings reset and my nice soft/warm backlight reverts to a pulsating RGB light show. The power also seems to intermittently come and go while the computer is asleep, because when I come back the monitor is stuck in an endless loop of waking/sleeping because every key on the keyboard is sending signals on repeat. Given how expensive the apple display is, this freaks me out a little. So the work around is running my peripherals through a powered hub, so here we are. I'm a little bitter about spending $400 for something that SHOULD be fixable with a simple setting adjustment. BUT, it instantly grew on me. The build is nicer than I expected in person. I also just recently upgraded my ISP/internet speed, and plan to run an ethernet cable (vs Wifi), so this helps with that too. A few gripes: The color is closer to the old "space grey" from M1-M2 macs. Would be nice if this matched the "silver" color of the TB5 M5 macs, since it's clearly made for people with these machines. And the cable is 1m, which limits how far it can be from my macbook—so yes, they will be nearby. A 2m long cable would make it so I can move my macbook off my desk and hidden on the shelf next to it, which would be nice since this hub eliminates the need to access it for any reason while sitting. CalDigit sells a 2m cable that is, unfortunately, ridiculously expensive. What I like: For one, unlike multiple other hubs I've tried in the past... it just works. The build is top tier. The bandwidth of every port is as advertised. The lighter color and smaller size (versus the PLUS model) are nicer for me. Get this one unless you have internet faster than 2.5Gbps.

Excelente producto

Great looking and high performance device!!

Excellent product—worked perfectly on the first try. While I understand most users of this docking station are on macOS, I'm using it with a Windows laptop featuring Thunderbolt 4, and it's been flawless. It may have some compatibility quirks with older Thunderbolt 3 systems, but for Thunderbolt 4 and 5, it works seamlessly. One of the best features: no drivers required on Windows—just true plug and play.

Junto con el TS5 Plus es lo mejor que vas a encontrar en cuanto a Thunderbolt 5. Lo instalé en Windows y lo conecté al puerto TB5 de mi PC. Reconoce los 80Gbps sin problemas y puedo transmitir hasta en 3 monitores. Actualmente lo estoy usando para dos monitores y en uno a 4K@144Hz. También lo tengo conectado a un enclosure para NVMe y me arroja velocidades cercanas a los 6,000MB/s

Works with M4 Max as expected. the packedge does not give you premium feeling, however when you unpack the device has solid alu casing and all ports works as expected. i love that on front panel there is only usb-c, without usb-a.