Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo Review: A Stripped-Down CoreXY That Still Prints Well

The Centauri 2 Combo Leaves Out a Lot

Elegoo's Centauri Carbon 2 Combo impressed with its enclosed chamber, built-in camera, and four-color printing for $379. The Centauri 2 Combo arrives at $319 by removing all of those features. Same CANVAS four-color system, same CoreXY frame, no enclosure, no camera, no LED lighting. The question this review sets out to answer is whether $60 is a fair price for those omissions, or whether you are giving up more than the discount justifies.

Setup and First Print

Out-of-box setup takes roughly 25 minutes. The frame bolts together in a straightforward sequence, the bed clips on, and the touchscreen walks you through bed leveling and nozzle calibration without needing to consult the manual. My first print, a two-color bed scraper stored on the printer's internal memory, started within 40 minutes of unboxing. That is exactly the kind of out-of-box experience beginners need.

The 4-inch touchscreen is one area where Elegoo invested in hardware that punches above this price. Interface response is snappy, menus are clearly laid out, and switching between color slots in the CANVAS system takes three taps. This is not a screen you will feel frustrated by.

Print Quality

Across PLA, PETG, and a two-tone fidget model using all four CANVAS channels, print quality was consistently strong. Layer lines at 0.2mm height are clean and unobtrusive. Overhangs up to 60 degrees held without stringing. Dimensional accuracy on calibration cubes was within 0.1mm on X and Y axes. The 350C nozzle temperature opens the door to engineering filaments like PETG and ASA, but without an enclosure, ASA warping becomes a real issue above prints taller than 60mm.

Speed is genuine. At 500mm/s with 10,000mm/s2 acceleration, the CoreXY motion is stable. Real-world quality prints land between 120mm/s and 200mm/s, depending on geometry. Benchy finished in 19 minutes at 200mm/s, with clean hull lines and no ghosting.

What the $60 Cut Actually Costs

The enclosure removal is the biggest functional loss. Without enclosure and active temperature control, ABS, PC, and Nylon are all significantly harder to print reliably. Even PETG benefits from the stable ambient temperature an enclosure provides on taller parts. If your filament library starts and ends with PLA, this matters less. If you plan to grow into engineering materials, the Carbon 2's enclosure is worth the extra $60 on day one.

The camera absence is less critical but still noticeable. The Elegoo Slicer app has a history of connectivity drops, and without a camera to confirm a print started correctly, you are relying on the first layer sensor and hope. It is not a deal-breaker, but it is a step backward from every other multicolor printer in this price bracket.

The bed is genuinely useful. One side textured PEI, one side smooth PEI. Flipping the plate swaps your adhesion profile without changing glue sticks or tapes. After testing both, the textured side handled PLA and PETG without issue. The smooth side showed its value on flexible filaments, which release cleanly without the texture imprint.

The Multicolor Math

CANVAS is the Centauri 2 Combo's strongest feature. Automatic color switching across four filaments, RFID recognition on Elegoo-branded spools, and purge waste that Elegoo says is reduced by roughly 40 percent compared to earlier systems. In testing, a four-color model used about 18g of purge material across eight color transitions. That is not zero, but it is a meaningful improvement over the 30g-plus purge typical of older multicolor systems.

Build volume is 256 x 256 x 256mm. That is enough for most practical projects: functional brackets, cosplay armor pieces, multicolor desktop toys, and small to medium prints in single material. Projects that need the full 300mm height of the Bambu Lab A1 will require splitting.

Should You Buy It?

The Centauri 2 Combo is a very good $319 CoreXY printer with genuine four-color capability. Print quality is strong out of the box, setup is genuinely easy, and the CANVAS system works reliably. If you only ever print PLA and PETG and want multicolor without spending $379, this is the printer to buy.

If there is any chance you will want to print ABS, PC, or Nylon, or if you value being able to check on prints remotely, the $60 difference to the Carbon 2 Combo pays for itself immediately. The Carbon 2 also holds resale value better, and the enclosure is not a feature Elegoo can add later.

For beginners who want a CoreXY with multicolor and a sub-$400 budget, the Centauri 2 Combo is a sensible pick. Just know exactly what you are giving up before you buy.