Hi all, I realise this question has been asked before, but please believe me when I say I’ve searched. I think I’ve exhausted this forum, Reddit and YouTube trying to decide if I’m going to be able to cope with the noise of an X1C.
Although I’ll probably only print pla, petg and the CF variants of them, I’m really attracted to an enclosed printer. I’m trying to convince myself of the health benefits but I think they just look much better than an A1 with the wires and tubes flying everywhere, and I prefer the full AMS as my room is quite humid at 65%. I know there’s the P1S but I’ll always then regret not getting the X1, so it’s either an A1 or X1C.
So does anyone have both and could they actually measure the difference please? I’ve read several times the A1 is much quieter, but that’s subjective and there’s no figures to back it up. I’ve seen videos of the A1 being 50-55db and the X1C being 50-60db (others being high 60’s), so 5db isn’t a massive difference (10db obviously is), but they weren’t measured at the same time with the same equipment so who knows how useful that is.
The printer will be in the man cave where I play games (pc and console) and watch TV, so I need to be able to cope with it sitting 3 meters away from me. I currently have a Ender 3 S1 Pro which measures around 50db on my phone and the thing that annoys me with that is the fan noise, not the movement (and it’s slow). So from my searching the A1 seems similar, but I read someone say their X1 was much quieter than their S1 Pro. So if the X1 muffles the fan noise and I hear the movements that would probably be better for me.
Sorry that was a lot longer than it should have been, but I’d appreciate any feedback so I can finally order something.
I have the P1S, which almost identical hardware to the X1C. From what I can tell the printing is identical except for the lidar, including the fans.
The P1S is much louder than the Ender S1, which I had before. Especially the auxiliary fan is loud, but the printer movements themselves are noisy as well.
The solution for the noise is to sacrifice speed (just print slower, lower the fans), you can just lower them until they are at an acceptable level for you. Without the auxiliary fan running (which is unnecessary for most prints anyway) and a bit lower speeds, you should be able to watch TV just fine without it being too annoying.
PS: I was thinking that I would regret not buying the X1C as well, but my thought was that by paying 400€ less, I can use that money to buy a new printer in the future, which should be better than the X1 (for example nozzle hotswap, easier replacement of other major parts like the x axis, no squeaking belts, …)
Sorry that I can not properly answer your question as I only have an X1C. But I have it around 1m from my Home Office. No issue with that as I usually make sure the Chamber fan is at 80% or less. Since the 01.04. motor noise update, it is pretty good regarding noise. Wouldn’t put it in my bedroom though.
Also, Decibel work on a log scale referencing peak pressure. So a 5dB decrease is actually quite a significant drop in noise.
The only time I hear a bunch of fan noise is when printing pla probably because I do not open my door or remove the top so the fan has to kick up. You can always buy noise cancelling headphone’s they work great.
I’ve watched several videos and have read many reviews. The X1C is not the quietest printer, but with the LIDR and ability to print much hotter than the P1S/A1, I think you would be much happier with this as your purchase. I just ordered mine (X1C) today and I can’t wait till it arrives!