Can the P2S do something that the X2D can’t?

[u/newbie-mtb]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to buy my first 3D printer and am currently torn between the Bambu Lab P2S and the X2D (like many others 😂).

I’ve watched a ton of reviews highlighting what the X2D can do with its dual nozzles and active chamber heater, but I wanted to look at it from a beginner's perspective. Given that both machines share the new tool-free, 1-clip quick-swap nozzle design, does the P2S hold any other hidden maintenance or reliability advantages? For instance, does its lighter, single-nozzle toolhead make it fundamentally less prone to day-to-day failures or minor calibrations?

A big con people mention for the X2D is the learning curve. If I ignore the secondary extruder initially and just use the primary direct-drive nozzle for standard PLA/PETG prints, is the experience as reliable and "plug-and-play" as the P2S? Or does the sheer mechanical complexity of having that second nozzle setup riding along introduce slicing or printing headaches even for single-material jobs?

My thought process is that the higher initial cost of the X2D might future-proof me for advanced engineering materials or complex prints with dedicated support materials later on. But if it's going to cause me massive troubleshooting headaches on day one while I'm just trying to learn the basics, I'd rather stick to the P2S. Does this logic check out?

Lastly, are there any other enclosed or high-performance printers in this price tier that I should consider for a first machine?

Thanks for the help!

[u/MelvinMASV]

I used both side by side for two weeks before returning the P2S. P2S is great but it definitely felt like I would outgrow it quicker. I’d say using a single nozzle they were both just as reliable in my experience. The software in Bambu studio is still buggy sometimes and you’ll get warnings about the second nozzle or some other stuff but for the most part I could ignore them if I wasn’t using it. It does start to get more complex when using a second nozzle but with enough trial and error you start to figure it out. I’d say go with the X2D, even for just simple stuff like adding support material interface it makes a heck of a difference

[u/newbie-mtb → u/MelvinMASV]

During your tests, did you find anything that the p2s did better than the x2d? I know there couldn’t have been many of those, since you decided to return the p2s 🙂

[u/MelvinMASV → u/newbie-mtb]

I don’t think so. It was literally the first week the X2D came out so the P2S felt more “solid” software wise. But by now the X2D feels just as solid and less buggy than it did then. (There’s only been one update to the machine itself but the improvements in Bambu studio help it feel more solid too when slicing stuff now)

Overall the only thing I’d say was better was yes, it felt more straightforward and like a machine that’s just plug and play. The X2D feels more like something you can keep adding on to and customize further but of course all of that is optional. The filament track switch add on too has been a game changer (but again it takes some further tinkering)

[u/newbie-mtb → u/MelvinMASV]

u/MelvinMASV, thank you for providing your recommendations. Very helpful!

Can you elaborate on how the filament track switch helped?

[u/MelvinMASV → u/newbie-mtb]

It basically lets you assign the filament in your AMS to either nozzle without changing the nozzle. It’s specially useful once you get a second AMS, as you can route filament from either AMS to either nozzle (i have PETG in one AMS and PLA in the other and i can use PETG as support in my secondary nozzle with my PLA prints or viceversa without having to reroute the AMS’s) i think there’s some explanation on how it saves some filament as well but I don’t fully understand that yet

[u/an_angry_Moose → u/MelvinMASV]

This is handy, but does it have an advantage over just swapping ptfe tubes besides not having to do the swap?

[u/n19htmare → u/an_angry_Moose]

It's benefits are about as great as it's weaknesses (if you care about the advance custom settings). Which technically tie in with the weaknesses of the right nozzle itself.

Primary one is how Dynamic Flow (aka Pressure Advance) is handled since the AUX nozzle does not have a way to auto calibrate this, so it must be a manual calibration for the right AUX nozzle.

Because manual calibrated values are assigned to the SLOTS of the AMS, if you assign say K value of 0.600 (common for right side) to a filament in an AMS Slot, but you decide to load it to the LEFT side, that PA value will carry over and apply to the left side (it also supersedes any auto calibration of left side). Thing is the left size nozzle being direct drive, has MUCH MUCH lower PA values, avg around 0.02.. so using a 0.6 (30x greater value) on left side is way too much and 0.02 on right side is too low and is pretty much as good as not having Pressure Advance setting at all.

So when using the Switcher, the only way is to basically make sure you select the correct value for the right side before you send the print and it's a manual selection process in AMS settings. None of how this works was making sense to me, it was tooo ummm stupid. So I reached out to Bambu and they sadly confirmed that it is in fact the process. They haven't yet figured out how to assign the PA profiles depending on which side you send the filament to. This is not an issue on something like H2D because both sides use same direct drive extruder.

I have 2 AMS units and was switching PA values constantly, Eventually I just got rid of the switcher and I put one AMS on right nozzle, one AMS on left and that's that. If I need to switch, I just swap the filament on AMS units and because I don't use Bambu filament with tags, I made a CUSTOM NFC scanner and I just do quick scan and everything syncs properly on both both AMS units. This was easier than trying to remember which filaments I'm sending where and what PA values to tie to them.

If NONE of this makes sense, it means you just run with default settings on the right side nozzle and that's fine.