CONCLUSION

   When Creality mentioned sending their Ender-5 S1 to the lab and on top of that their Sonic Pad I was quite intrigued and after spending just over 1 month with it that was only partially justified. In terms of features there’s no denying that the Ender-5 S1 by Creality surpasses the SideWinder X2 model by Artillery 3D, even without taking into account the innovative Sonic Pad. The same of course applies in terms of build quality (I’d argue also looks) since Creality wanted a sturdier construction for their 3D printer. However, for some people printing speed is what matters the most and here is where the Ender-5 S1 did in fact fall short, at least when compared to the SideWinder X2. Yes, the Sonic Pad did trim down the time required to print both models (nowhere near to the advertised 2x+ however – this depends on the printer model according to Creality) but clearly not enough to make a serious impact in that regard (also it would be great if it could connect wirelessly with the Ender-5 S1). Power consumption might also be an issue for some people and here the Ender-5 S1 didn’t do great either (makes sense however, more moving parts compared to the SideWinder X2 and higher temperatures for the nozzle).

   So, just how much are you required to spend to get your hands on the Ender-5 S1 3D printer and the Sonic Pad by Creality? Well, the good news is that Creality recently cut down the price of both and so currently you can get your very own Ender-5 S1 for just USD509.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 374.08Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) and your very own Sonic Pad for just USD158 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 157.55Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Had Creality not reduced the prices of both items’ things would had been quite different since in terms of printing performance and even power consumption the Ender-5 S1 doesn’t do great. Still, they did and that along with the fact that the Ender-5 S1 is a high-quality model that looks great and also sports a plethora of useful features (as does the Sonic Pad) are all more than enough for me to give it the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Print Quality
- Sticky & Bendable Heated Bed
- Dual Gear Direct Drive Metal Extruder
- Maximum Nozzle Temperature (300 Degrees)
- High Precision Stepper Motor
- Manual & Automatic Leveling
- 4.3 Inch Color LCD Screen
- PC, Cloud & SD Card Connectivity
- Sonic Pad Addon (Increases Speed / Adds Features)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Printing Speed
- Power Consumption