RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
I wanted to provide my experience with my XL5 so far. This is as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as I can get with my MK3S. The MK3S never got an extruder upgrade. I did replace the stepper motor with a Moons to try and fix the VFA issue, but couldn't see any difference at all. I left it on because it didn't get as hot as the stock motor, and prevented heat creep in an enclosure. The filament is the same, and the layer height is the same. It's a pretty huge difference. I'm happy with the quality. These are both printed at 0.3mm layers.
I, like some others, seem to have made a bad assumption after looking at this picture. Just to confirm, you're saying the left side of the picture (nice even layers) is the XL and the right side (very uneven layers) is the MK3s? If so you might want to see why your MK3s isn't putting down perfect layers. It should be at least as good as the left side. My MK3, with no tweaking and using standard profiles, makes prints nice and smooth like that on the left.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
My MK3 has looked like this since I put it together in 2017. I've rebuilt the printer twice between then and now. This is also with a light source directly above the print to show the imperfections. The only way to reduce this is to reduce the layer height. The objects are both printed at 0.3mm, which exacerbates the issue. When looking at printed items under normal light they look just fine. I just wanted to show it in the worst way possible to show the major quality difference between the two printers.
