> The actual market isn't Ender 3 vs Mk4.
Goalposts moved!
> It's extremely hard to argue that Prusa printers represent a good value in any market segment in a post-Bambu world.
I don't find it hard.
> produce better prints
Citation needed*
> faster
I've heard this is true, so let's roll with it!
>multiple high end printers that I've dumped $2k+ into.
You must mean high-end China, yeah? $2k doesn't sound like much when it comes to FDM high end.
> But I've also got an X1 for when I just want a part and don't want to think about it. It's an appliance. It just works. That has massive value for people where printing is a means to an end rather than a hobbyist journey.
Are you thinking that Prusa printers are a "hobbyist journey"? Because they're definitely an appliance. Not only that, they're an appliance that can be repaired with off-the-shelf parts for the most part.
> If you're a hobbyist that wants to tinker, there's nothing that justifies dropping 5x the cost of an E3 on a Mk4. $800 will go a long way toward making up any difference.
I totally agree (given the constraint.) No tinkering necessary on an MK4. Have you ever used one?
> Because they refuse to engineer their products for mass production. Which is, coincidentally, one of the reason why they're also failing to compete on price.
This is more eye-of-the-beholder stuff. You think this is bad. I think this is good. Makes the world go 'round.
While it does hinder them competing on price, it also grants them some flexibility to improve designs over time. Since the printer has printed parts, users can print the new/better designs if they want.
The thing I've noticed about Chinese-printer proponents is that they're hyper focused on price. Even when I say "Initial cost of ownership and what else?" you lead with "They're cheaper" Let's say that the prints are better, I think they do print faster and I'll take your word for it that they don't require any manual tuning by the user (just like Prusa.) What about repair? What about contributions to the 3d printing community? What about support (and I'm not talking about Prusa's chat/email)?
My first Prusa printer was an MK2. After its release, Prusa continued to iterate on that product and offered multiple upgrade kits over its lifetime at reasonable prices that brought compelling features. Do you think BL will do the same? Or will they instead want you to buy a whole new printer to get the latest whatever that they've lifted from the community?
I'm going to guess that you don't care. That's your right of course, but there are people who do care about e-waste and planned obsolescence and buying as few products made by slaves as possible. Those people aren't wrong just like you're not wrong. We just value different things.