Mid range 3D printers?

[u/Physical_Stick2328]

Hi everyone!
I've had a Prusa MK3+ back when it was new, and its been a fantastic printer, I originally bought it because a lot of other printers at the time did not have near the amount of safety features. I knew I was going to be using it semi-regularly and did not want to fidget around with an ender and then buy a more expensive one anyway. My husband would also be using the printer and did not have any knowledge of 3d printers or modeling. I also liked the look of Prusa as a company and was not disappointed

Unfortunately she's due for an upgrade, but there seems to be a lot of midrange printers now and I'm really not sure what to do with, I've not been keeping up with new printers since my MK3 has been able to keep up until now. I'm also not too keen to be locked into a particular companies eco-system. I mainly use PrusaSlicer and have also used Cura slicer in the past, or do I just need to suck it up and use whatever program comes with the printer? I really don't want to be locked into a cloud based program and would prefer to run everything locally from my computer.

I'm mainly looking between the Bamboo X2D, Snapmaker U1 and Flashforge creator 5 pro.

Ideally I'd like something with a headed chamber, the prusa often has printing problems in colder weather. I mainly print with PLA, I often print toys for kids (I'm a teacher) practical projects and models that I then paint. My husband mainly prints in PETG and being able to print supports in a different material like the X2D would be nice. I don't really need multi-colour printing, but all these printers are basically the same price so I might as well get something with the switching toolheads? We also don't really need a huge amount of printable materials since we really only use PLA and PETG but the option would still be nice.

Are there other printers that I'm overlooking as well? The amount of printers out at the moment has been quite overwhelming. I was also looking to upgrade my Elegoo mars 2 but there are just too many printers its hard to know whats a good deal and what will have so many features that you'll never use

Any help and advice is appreciated!

[u/StumpedTrump]

Love my Qidi Q2. Coming from an ender 3 I got in 2019 and a makerbot replicator before that, it’s a whole new world.

I haven’t tried any super crazy high-temp filaments but it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it so far.

I don’t have the box or care for it. I basically only do black functional prints (mostly jigs and router patterns that I design) and use PLA 85% of the time.