I have operated both Felder and Minimax sliding table saws at this level. Between the K500S and the SC4E, I think it's somewhat of a wash. That being said, there are some differences to be aware of.
Minimax SC4E points
- Minimax comes stock with a scoring motor and it runs all the time with the main motor.
- single phase 4.8HP main motor is a little more powerful than the Felder 4HP single phase
- Has an American standard 5/8" size for saw arbor which means you have an extremely large selection of blades to choose from.
- Uses the standard 3/4" t-slot in the slider, which means you can just plop in a normal Incra miter gauge or some other gauge/jig/clamp.
- A very nice DRO kit is available for the crosscut fence at a reasonable price:
https://www.proscale.com/products/in.../907-3037-001/
Felder K500S points
- Felder does have an option for a separate scoring motor, which I highly recommend, but it does cost extra. It has it's own power switch so it can be off. I would highly recommend you get a scoring motor regardless.
- Felder uses a non-standard t-slot. My Felder K700S t-slot is 0.82" which means it's useless except for Felder clamps/jigs (and they are extremely expensive!).
- It uses the Euro sized 30mm saw arbor with two pins, which means you need special saw blades (they are available but not as widespread). I would recommend the Tenryu blades here as they are excellent.
- The overhead saw guard option on the Felder is awsome, but very expensive (I think it's an $1100 option).
- To me, I think the Felder X-roll table works and feels just a little bit better, but this is probably a small thing.
- No DRO options for the crosscut fence unless you fabricate your own (which can be challenging if you don't have metal working fabrication experience).
If I were to have to choose between those two options, I would probably choose the Minimax just because of the crosscut fence DRO kit. I have found that you be off by up to 1/16" when using a non-DRO flipstop. Actually, many of my cuts are off by 1/32" because you need to be directly above the hairline indicator when setting the fence and it's pretty much impossible to do this. If this doesn't bug you, then fine, but I think a crosscut DRO is a mandatory item.
If you could find a used Felder K700S that not more than 5-6 years in good condition, I would seriously consider that. The K700S line is a significant step up and improvement, but everything is also more expensive at this level, so be aware. With the K700S, you have a much better crosscut fence and overall machine. Some of these K700S will include the Felder crosscut DRO. However, if the fence has a non-DRO flipstop, you can get the Lamb Toolworks DRO flipstop for around $1500-1600 (depending).