I'm investigating the purchase of an 8" SCT at the moment, so I have a
genuine interest.

I started off by thinking that I'd get a LX200, however I'm now thinking
that I might get a TAL200K, HEQ5 and Skyscan 2000.

To start, I'm of the opinion that Meade builds a mediocre product. In star
tests using their 8" systems I've always found Celestron Optics slighty better.
Meade has also released many drive systems onto the market which were basically
untested. They've ****ed off a lot of people.
My main problem with the Tal is the open tube design. One of the big pluses on
SCTs is the closed tube design. While there is a small penalty in thermal
equalization, I think a sealed system is less trouble in the long run. Dew and
dust on the primary and secondary on a regular basis will give you fits.
I usually find that Celestron manages to have a smaller central obstruction,
making for better contrast. Have you compared?
Finally, have you looked at the Celestron 9.25? It's generally considered to be
one of the best compound optical sets on the market (for the money) and I think
it makes sense over the 8.

http://www.adorama.com/CNOT9AX.html

RB