Hello, if you are a complete beginner and standing before the choice of your first printer, then take Bambu Lab A1. Cobra X is for users who already understand something about printing, have at least basic experience, and can figure it out. Now I’ll explain why.
I have both brands. I have 15 A1s and bought 2 new Cobra Xs.
Autocalibration PA (pressure advance): Bambu wins here completely, but the algorithm for Cobra is worse; after autocalibration, there are uneven walls on parts, and it leaves droplets when moving, which happens because the algorithms of Cobra X aren’t as refined. However, Cobra X has a manual input PA, which Bambu doesn’t have, sometimes this can be useful. I tried adjusting various retracts but this didn’t help much, so I’m still looking for perfect settings.
Heated Bed: Bambu’s is gold-colored, while Cobra X’s is black and thin. After 10 prints with PETG material when removing parts, some of the black paint remains on the first layer. I print in white color and this completely ruins my part, which I have to throw away. Currently, I haven’t found golden plates for Cobra X in stock, so using my experience, I installed Bambu’s plates to quickly fix the problem with peeling paint.
Maintenance: I really like that Bambu keeps an internal counter and shows a message when it’s time to lubricate the table guides; there is no such message on Cobra X. Both printers have the same construction but their maintenance wiki differs completely, which is strange. Whom to trust more, I still don’t understand.
Noise: Bambu wins again. I’m talking about the noise that occurs when the bed moves while printing infill. This is still a problem with Anycubic’s algorithms. The noise isn’t strong and personally it doesn’t bother me, but it’s louder than on A1.
Conclusion which I draw: You can and should buy Cobra X if tasks you set for it require this printer. Also, you can save money by buying Bambu; it is simply more expensive. Additionally, Anycubic makes much less filament waste when changing colors compared to Bambu; the difference is very significant.
Write what you would choose.