SonnetxMac mini Server with one Full-Length and one Half-Length Slot Thunderbolt 3 Edition (XMAC-MS-A-TB3)

I bought 5 of them for my distributed kubernetes cluster. They are amazing and highly recommend them if you are looking for a nice rack mount solution for your Mac minis.

I love the concept of this enclosure. Happy for every toaster box that is off my desk and in the rack. In a server room this product might make more sense but I was planning to stick an eGPU in and start editing movies with my MacMini. The fan noise however is on par with my air conditioner. Ok, I can work with headphones on. The dealbreaker for me is that the very simple push rod mechanism that is supposed to operate the on/off button on the rear of the Mac has so much tolerance that it fails to do anything. Not cool! When my Mac did not come on after building it into rack I thought it was broken. The button on the front of the unit has a very pleasant, soft springy resistance, obfuscating any haptic feedback from the MacMini. So there is no way to "feel" if the button was actually pushed. I'll fiddle with the mechanism some more and update my review once I figure out a fix. For now I must say, considering that the Sonnet xMac Mini Server costs $900 new I am massively underwhelmed.Update (November 2020):I purchased the "Quiet Fan Kit" upgrade. Newer versions of this model do not require the upgrade because they come with quiet fans pre-installed. This upgrade takes care of the truly deafening noise level. So for an additional $79.99 I have my peace and quiet back. Still no solution to the faulty on/off button issue, so the Mac is running day and night. If I shut it down I have to take the rack enclosure out in order to boot the computer. Ridiculous.

I own a ton of Sonnet gear, including two of these Sonnet xMac Mini's, two Sonnet xMac Pro's, two Sonnet Echo Express III-R Thunderbolt 3 rack units, a Sonnet RackMac mini Rackmount Enclosure, a Thunderbolt 3 Sonnet Echo Express SE IIIe, as well as a handful of other Sonnet goodies. That being said, I am beyond disappointed with Sonnett's quality control as of recently. The two xMac Pro chassis I own are very well designed and built. These xMac Mini chassis on the other hand are a complete joke. Here are some (yes some, not all) of the issues I have PERSONALLY encountered with all the units I have recently purchased:Miscellaneous individual metal components which were not manufactured (bent) correctly causing a terrible fit.Loose/unsecured parts found flying around the inside of the units upon arrival.Loose screws.Missing screws.The "S" on one unit was actually crazy glued on (I could tell by the white vapor residue around the "S" and fell off during unboxing!Found a fan for cooling the PSU hanging on by one screw. (no joke, it was missing 3 screws!)Scratched facia panels right out of a sealed box.Bent parts.Stripped screws (both heads and threads)Light pipe on the fascia don't line up at all with the new 2018 Mac mini.and the list goes on and on...But the NUMBER ONE issue I have with the xMac Mini Server chassis is the mechanism that pushes the power button on the back of the mini. This mechanism is found on both the Mac mini Server as well as the RackMac mini Rackmount Enclosure. It is by far the biggest POS design I have ever seen. Half the time it won't even turn on the mini. In fact, based on the angle that the cam is coming into contact with the button on the mini itself, it pushes it in at such an angle, it becomes stuck. This means you'll have to rip the entire unit out of your rack, open up the chassis, and hopefully be able to free the stuck button without removing the mini from the enclosure.I have called, emailed, and even reached out to their rep to bring these issues to their attention. End result? Nobody cares...My advice, stay away from Sonnet until they can get their act together.