Antec has just launched another case on their Sonata line-up, called Sonata Proto, which follows the same design concept from Sonata III 500 and Sonata Elite, two products that we’ve already reviewed. Let’s see what is new on the new Sonata Proto.

On Figures 1 and 2 you can have an overall look from Sonata Proto. Here we could clearly see the main difference between the new Sonata Proto and the previous Sonata versions: while the older versions have a shiny black automotive painting, the new Sonata Proto uses a standard matte black paint job. The paint job is not bad, but the other members from the family are better-looking.

Sonata Elite comes with a big air intake on the right panel, which isn’t present on the new Sonata Proto or on the Sonata III 500. Like Sonata III 500, Sonata Proto has a big latch to release its left-side panel, feature not present on Sonata Elite.

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Figure 1: Antec Sonata Proto case.

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Figure 2: Antec Sonata Proto case.

Like Sonata Elite and Sonata III 500, Sonata Proto has a door covering the external bays. The other Sonata models have two USB ports, one eSATA port, mic in and heaphones out jacks, plus a lock that makes it more difficult for someone without the key to open the front door – but not impossible, as the key used is similar to the keyboard lock key used when computers still ran on coal. Sonata Proto follows the same configuration but without the eSATA port.

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Figure 3: Front panel.