A 300 × 300 × 400 mm build volume, a sturdy triangle frame, and so quiet I sometimes forget it's on. I pushed the Longer LK5 Pro all the way to a 40 cm, 27-hour filament astronaut, and it's one of the best value printers I've tested.
Ten minutes to first print
I tested the LK5 Pro for a couple of weeks in early 2022. It was sent to me for review, and honestly I'd be extremely happy if I had paid for it. The unboxing felt premium, with every part wrapped in pink foam. About 90% comes pre-assembled, and it took me no more than ten minutes to put together, while also moving cameras around. That matters, because I always ask whether a printer suits a beginner, and this one does.
Built like a tank, quiet like a library
The two inclined support rods form a sturdy triangle with the frame. Even with a single Z rod, I had no Z wobble or related problems. The body is metal, the mainboard sits underneath, and it's heavy: it doesn't move on the table and vibration isn't an issue. Three TMC2208 drivers make the steppers super silent. All you hear is the extruder motor now and then and a little fan noise.
The 4.3-inch colour touchscreen is bright and easy to use, with many languages (no Italian, but I use everything in English anyway). The bed is ceramic-coated glass: parts stick when hot and release when cool, a real upgrade over the LK4 Pro I reviewed before. The temperature was even across the corners and centre, which is a common problem on other printers. Manual levelling is simple: heat nozzle and bed, then turn the knobs at each corner. There's also an adjustable Z-stop, handy if you add an extra bed surface.
The prints
The files on the SD card (a whistle my kids love, calibration cubes, a stringing-free Benchy in some very old PLA, and a slow but gorgeous AzureFilm silk copper vase) all came out well. Then I sliced my own in Cura, all in draft mode. A vampire castle printed without supports came out much better than on the LK4 Pro, even with old black PLA from a drawer, which says a lot about how a printer copes with bad filament. A Benchy scaled up 50% in AzureFilm's new neon pink, a detailed print-in-place dragon from Cults, Ivan's vase in vase mode (0.8 mm extrusion on a 0.4 mm nozzle), and a SpongeBob character my kids asked for all came out great. The finale: a 40 cm filament astronaut in AzureFilm silk with lightning infill, finished after 27 hours.
What could be better
The heat block is the same as on the LK4 Pro. Only the PTFE tube was upgraded for higher temperatures. Some people say the part-cooling fan doesn't blow evenly. I didn't see that in my prints, but I printed a fan duct in PETG from Thingiverse to try. There were also no baby steps on the screen yet. Hopefully a firmware update will add them. It's a very standard, easy-to-upgrade machine, and you'll find guides online even for a direct-drive conversion.