The Sound Board

So, what does your connections look like? I have a Mac Studio as a primary machine, so I have 6 USB-C and 2 USB-A. But with two computer monitors, several hard drives, MIDI-devices and what not I'm starting to run out of connections with the two Anker hubs I have:

So I was curious, if you have a strategy or some kind of super hub?

I have one 7-port hub mounted under my desk, and all my always-attached drives are connected to that (and also mounted under the desk).

I have a different 7-port hub with buttons for 3 backup drives and my iLok, this one is mounted on my desk. That leaves three ports available on that, the two USB-C ports on the front of the Studio, and one Thunderbolt in the back that I'm reserving for a 2nd monitor.

My interface, MIDI controller, and main monitor are plugged directly into the Studio.

Mine isn't very elegant - 2x 4 port USB 3 hubs and 1x10 USB 2 hubs. 2 of these sit up on a shelf where I plug in hard drives, dongles and anything else I need.

I remember churning through dozens of USB 3 hubs in particular that didn't work properly or at all, though that was relatively early in USB3's life.

I've added a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element to my MacStudio which has 4x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 Ports and 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gb Ports.
The initial and main reason for the CalDigit was to connect my external HD's, but I quickly started using it as a hub for my 2 iLok keys as well. No problems to report.




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I have a CalDigit TS3 Plus and a 4-port Anker hub (for license dongles) with my Mac Studio. Previously, I used a 7-port Anker USB hub which worked great with my iMac but, for whatever reasons, wasn’t playing nice with the Mac Studio. The CalDigit has worked flawlessly for me thus far although I’ve only had it for ~4 months or so.

I needed ports for: MIDI keyboard, Moog Sub Phatty, MIDI fader box, Stream Deck, monitor, sample drive, two back-up drives, the 4-port Anker dongle box, and audio interface. I also opted to keep the two ports on the front of my Mac Studio open.

I was hoping for a less expensive solution than the CalDigit Thanks for the recommendations and experiences!

I've found Anker reliable over the past few years, and sane prices.

A10 port Anker here with a 4 port Anker hanging off it.

Anker and Sabrent here, but that's regular USB hubs, no video.