I am an old-time toolmaker with over 40 years in the trade with the last 15 in a cnc toolroom. Learning the computer interface and different languages was quite a challenge, but what I noticed was that the yonger employees had no difficulty with the NC side, but were at a loss with the basic machining skills required:- eg: order of operations. This made for some great crashes. enough said.
The reason I am writing is:-
I am looking to buy an X3 or super X3 as from what I can read about them, they seem to fit the bill for the small hobby shop setup. Does anyone run these small machines as they are? In all the writeups, after the crate arrives, it's opened, the machine is cleaned up and they start to convert the machine to CNC. Does anyone have any experience with them so that an honest opinion could be made as to rigidity, repeatability, reliability and longevity? I know these small machines are no comparison to a full size shop machine, but they must be made to some standards.
Waiting with mic in hand

I know you asked about comparisons of their reliability but also pondered the automatic changeover to CNC upon opening the crate. The only reason at all that I can see for not going straight to a CNC package is the constraint of project money. Us old farts can make multiple involved set ups so that a manual machine can make anything, but with the ease of one set up machining verus multiple setups and blending with an all manual machine it just makes sense to go CNC as soon as possible. Don't need a rotary table with CNC unless doing four axes machining. Right there says a lot.

I remember how it was making automotive radiator header dies before electronics. A rotary head and Trav-A-Dials. As the wheel wore on the TADs, allowances needed to be made or the spacing of the "hats" on the die steel that formed the dimples on the header for each radiator tube were off. The rotary head would do the end of one hat at a time, and you could have 40 or more hats in a row with up to four rows of hats. Chances for screwups were about 240 times. CNC? LMAO. A few clicks and then go read a magazine. <-- Not really...... :-)