I was torn between the AP Mach1GTO, 900GTO and MX at my time of purchase.
The retirement of the 900GTO line put me off (now replaced by 1100GTO) and the portable Mach1GTO (arguably THE mount in its weight class - thanks for the tour Mark she's a gem) unfortunately felt more like my earlier, black Losmandy G11 than a major observatory mount upgrade, so I opted for the MX.
I'm not a fan of serial connections and ASCOM. SB run with USB these days and we'll see full WIFI control of the MX and ME2 in the near future. The tech and software side of things does appeal to me.
Something to consider when comparing AP and SB mounts: their design origin. The AP900/1200 is the design of Mr Rob Miller and has been around for many, many years (exact date unknown, though it looks like AP were selling the 900-style mount in June 1996 so approx. 17-20 years ago?
http://www.astro-physics.com/index.h...ducts/products). The MX has been around for what, approx. 3 years this August?
Do a bit of digging and you'll discover that Mr Miller teamed up with SB on the MX (oh, and on ME which seems to work OK.) From a review of Mr Miller's line of tripods:
http://www.astromart.com/articles/ar...article_id=824
Rob Miller isn't someone who dropped in new with no prior experience. He had a significant hand in the design and build of the Astro-Physics AP1200 and then the AP900. He also had a lot to do with the Bisque Paramount. His name is whispered legend for some of us old-timers. After all, to be associated with these two legendary companies and their highly sought after mounts is nothing short of remarkable.
Can't go wrong with either company, IMHO
