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Having owned an FLT-132, AP 130 Starfire EDF GT and a TOA-130s I found it came down to the scope that I felt most comfortable with i.e. visual image quality, the feel & looks and perceived pride of ownership.
I bought the FLT-132 direct from WO when it was offered with free shipping and the $500 FT focuser upgrade. The price landed at that time (2009) was around $4300. I couldn't fault the scope, superb finish, brilliant focuser, great hard carry case and excellent views through the eyepiece. After owing it for over a year a second hand Tak TOA-130s came up for sale at a good price so I thought I would try it out. I was hooked on the Tak right from the start, I thought the FLT images were sharp until I looked through the TAK. The contrast and the absolute pin point sharpness of the TOA really stood out. I subsequently sold the FLT and was very happy to keep the TOA. A couple of years ago an AP 130 GT came up for sale so here I went again to see if this may be a TOA killer. To my surprise it didn't do a lot for me. It was well made, a fair bit lighter than the TOA and more portable. I did a side by side comparison with TV eyepieces on M42, Sirius, Canopus et al and couldn't really see any difference at all, in other words, both superb. Silly owning two scopes of the same aperture so I sold the AP for the same price I paid after owning it for a year. The next scope I thought would be an all rounder was an FSQ-106 EDX so I bought it new from Claude and can honestly say it is the goods. It took pride of ownership to a new level and so the TOA was sold off (for a little more than I paid for it).
I missed my TOA-130s and last year as fate would have it, a 9 month old TOA-130NFB came up for sale here on IIS which I couldn't resist. It is simply brilliant, with the large 4" focuser it is now a better balanced scope and doesn't require the tube balance weight that the TOA-130S or TOA-130NS needs. I still have my 10 year old FS-60c which gives me immense pleasure, very under-rated this class of scope in my opinion.
Anyway, "subjective" is the right word when it comes to choosing the best scope for you, we do what we do as the old saying goes.
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