Buy an ares. Just got my xm110, and absolutely love it. 445 out of the box. A&k to me is much better built externally than e1. I've handled both and e1 has gaps between receivers, plastic hopup, and it feels cheap. The a&k that I handled was solid and had decent internals for a lower end brand.

I swear I always take my time before purchasing stuff, especially when it comes to something I know little about. I'm feeling worse and worse about my purchase, this will teach me to never cut corners, even when I rarely ever do... I registered to these forums for the noob questions, but I had to order before hand... All the E1 ratings are really good though... Bah... First gun, next will be a G&G blow back. Also, would have been amazing to know not to order from Evike... Double bad move... Well I look forward to playing with some of you one day.

I do like my Ares SR-25 also, 2x the price in Canada though. 2x the price of the listed options I should say.

Some parts can be a drag to find but that is supposed to be fixed.

Maybe I'll bring it out Sunday.

I wouldn't get a g&g blowback. Teammate of mine had it as his first aeg. The lower broke so he decided to pick up a metal body. Tried installing it and the gearbox would fit the upper because of the blowback mechanism. So all in all he ended up parting it out. S if you decide to pick up a blowback model, make sure it's at least full metal.
I just picked up my 110 for 7 all taxes in, soo it was a bit on the high side.

I thought all G&G's were full metal? At least from what I have read, G&G are amongst the top airsoft brands. So I figured I can't go wrong with G&G...

G&P is one of the top brands we have in Canada. G&G is middle of the road.

I will definitely take more time making sure I get the best possible product for my next purchase. As for now, well my order has arriver at the montreal border. I keep my fingers crossed that it passes with the evike canada import document...

I wouldnt call G&G middle of the road if you are talking about there proline series. I have had mine for over 4 yrs and all I have done is replace the spring. I play every other weekend so it has alot of rounds through it. Alot of people tend to look down on them because they have combat machine and sportline series, but their proline are top notch as far as I am concerned.

i have a chance to get a ICS M16 for a trade? wondering if it would be easier to upgrade? cause i know there will be more compatible parts

I own the Echo1 ER25k which is similar to SR25 it specs are as follow:

Specs:
Echo1 ER25K Full Metal Airsoft AEG Rifle w/ Crane Stock
Gear Box: Ver.2
Length: 838-920mm
Weight: 3280g
Motor: Long Type.

Features:
SR25 Type Rail Interface System.
Full metal Mock QD Barrel Extension.
Retractable Battery Stock.
Full Metal Receiver.
Large Type High Capacity Magazine.
Flip up Front and Rear Sight
Full Upgradeable Internals.
Ergonomic Motor Grip.

I found getting parts was easy

Really?..hmmm interesting, whered you get the parts? ive heard other guys say that a M16 base would be better, but iam unsure.
Heres what i was looknig at,
http://www.revolutionairsoft.com/AK-SR25_p_128.html

and:
http://torontoairsoft.com/product.php?id_product=1640

building one from scratch is alot better then buying a stock one, you can buy modified and upgraded parts to have a custom gun. When i got mine i had to replace all the internals to make it preform better

ok, i was thinking the M16

I watched and read reviews that confirm that upgrading the E1 ER25K is not a problem, even so that because of the basic cylinder size, which is the most common for v2 gear boxes (where say the A&K uses a long cylinder), makes it much easier to upgrade. It turns out that the E1 isn't as bad as people here are making it out to be. If you want to spend $600+, then go for an Ares, or G&P. But if you don't have the means, or aren't ready to invest that much, Echo1 should not be ruled out.

Ok well now its ICS M16 vs Echo1 ER25k