A few months back, I did a head-to-head between the Bambu X1 Carbon and the Prusa MK4. When the dust settled, I admitted I liked the ease of use with the X1C, but philosophically? I’m more in line with Prusa—their stance on privacy, open-source ethos, and their overall take on the 3D printing world just feels more grounded.
I’ve been in the 3D printing game since the dark ages. My first setup was a bargain-bin Ender, and back then, a 15-hour print was standard—and if it actually finished without imploding, that was a miracle. Printing wasn’t about creating things; it was about surviving the process. Endless calibration, mystery failures, software quirks—it was a hobby for masochists.
Then came Prusa. Finally, a printer that let you shift focus away from tuning and toward actual making. And then Bambu showed up and somehow made it even easier… so long as you didn’t mind surrendering your data to the cloud gods.
Which brings me to this: I’ve stuck with Prusa mostly out of fear. Fear of going back to that old chaos. And yeah, I like to keep my network tight and off the radar—not handing over slices of my shop to whatever mystery server is sniffing packets in the background.
But there are other options.
Enter Anycubic. A brand I’d mostly written off—chalked them up as just another anonymous Chinese outfit chasing trends. Then, out of nowhere, they offered to send me their Kobra S1 Combo. Curiosity won out. I accepted.
At first glance, it looked like a budget Bambu P1S clone. Core XY, enclosed case, 250mm bed, filament management system—all about $200 cheaper than its rival. Nothing revolutionary. Certainly nothing exciting. Honestly, didn’t even seem worth reviewing.
And it didn’t start strong. First boot gave me a Nozzle MCU error—“check the wiring.” Sure enough, one of the connectors had rattled loose in shipping. Nothing major, but not exactly inspiring.
Got it plugged back in and fired up Anycubic Slicer Next—their open-source slicer, based on OrcaSlicer like Bambu’s Studio, but without the creepy cloud tie-ins. It’s rougher around the edges, sure, a few bugs and interface quirks, but solid once you get your bearings.
Then things went sideways. First three prints failed spectacularly. Parts flying, adhesion gone, filament chaos everywhere. The AI spaghetti detection system just sat there like a stoned mall cop while the hotend printed thin air. It was like I was back with that cursed Ender with the X1C and MK4 sitting near… Mocking me.
I was about to box the thing up and ship it back when I spotted an option in the slicer—an unchecked box for automatic bed leveling. Jesus.
Checked the box. Hit print.
Since then? Over 80 hours of flawless printing. PLA, PETG—smooth, reliable, consistent. Quality just as good as the Bambu and the Prusa. A little slower, yes—about 9.3% behind the X1C, a few ticks faster or slower than the MK4 depending on the model. But in real-world use? Nothing worth bitching about.
Then there’s the ace up its sleeve: the Anycubic Ace. While Bambu uses the AMS to manage multi-filament prints, the Kobra S1 Combo includes the Ace—a filament management system with a built-in filament dryer. You can set it to dry your filament before printing or even dry it during a job. The 3D printing crowd has been begging for this feature for years, and Anycubic beat everyone to it. Of course, Bambu just released their own version last week.
The last big unknown for me is long-term reliability. After those early hiccups, my Kobra S1 has been rock solid. It doesn’t feel quite as premium as the Bambu or the Prusa—it’s lighter, a little less polished—but it sure as hell doesn’t feel like a cheap knockoff either. And to be fair, my X1C has had its share of breakdowns and firmware weirdness too. I guess time will tell… and so will I.
Bottom line: I recommend it. Once you get over the startup bumps, the Kobra S1 becomes a plug-and-play workhorse. Reliable, competent, and way more open than the Bambu. Most importantly? It lets me print without sacrificing the security of my network.
And yeah—if I were buying today? I’d take the Kobra S1 over any Bambu machine on the market. No question… But maybe you have some? Fire away.
Also, you can find more info on the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo here.
Editor’s Note: Yes, the S1 was sent to me free of charge. But if you think that bought a glowing review, you don’t know me at all. Honestly, I was ready—eager even—to rip it apart after the rocky start. But here’s the truth: the damn thing redeemed itself. Turns out, it’s pretty damn good.
