LXD55 AR5 vs. ETX-125

I ordered an LX-90, but the wait time was moved again to "sometime in May. . .hopefully" so I cancelled the order. My interest is primarily planetary observation, but would like the opportunity for deep sky as well. I am thinking of the LXD55 AR5 refractor and ETX-125 because I do have experience using autostar and I really enjoy the "guided tour" feature. Also I have owned a couple Meade telescopes (dobsonian and etx) and I have been happy with the quality.

Aside from the obvious difference in weight between the two scopes, is there anything that really favors one over the other or am I comparing "apples with apples." Thanks for any advice. Everyone has been extremely helpful in the past. - Jason

Well, even with the new free tripod and hand controller offer on the ETX-125, you're still spending $900 for a small 5-inch scope.

Spend some time on the Yahoo LXD55 message board as I have, and you'll discover that the LXD55 mount quality hasn't been up to typical Meade standards. You'll also probably need to spend time and effort on the mount (readjustments, replace the grease, better tripod,...). The AR-5 optics sound great, although most people replace the diagonal right away.

Since your first choice was an 8" SCT, have you considered the Celestron Nexstar 8i? I decided I wanted this scope or the LX90. You can find some vendors out there that are still selling the N8i with a tripod and the upgraded computerized hand controller for $1200. This gets you the optical equivalent of the LX90 with UHTC ($1700), although mechanically the LX90 sounds like a better scope for photography.

Just some thoughts....

Give Anacortes a call.Their web page shows LX-90 UHTC in stock!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I am going to call Anacortes and Astronomics tomorrow and discuss reordering the LX90. It may be a wait, but I think I will be much happier in the end. - Jason