Copied from my post on CN.....
Thanks guys for all your opinions.
I decided to go with the TSA-120... Am waiting on the invoice to come through. Lead time of a few weeks. Have ordered rings for it from Joe at Parallax.
It was a very tough decision for me. Could have gone either way. Am sure I would have been thrilled to the back teeth with the TOA, but in the end, my decision came down to just the following:-
a). Cost. The money I saved will pay to rebuild my 10" f6 so I can use it on the G-11 (rotating rings, moonlight focuser, etc.). My wife has been very supportive of my going through this process, so I need to reciprocate that support by showing at least some restraint in my spending; I've just purchased a TSA-120, G-11, AP Maxbright, rings, etc. I also need a hard case still & I plan to get a 41mm panoptic for the TSA, as well as a high power nagler/delos, so I think I've had a fair go at spending money! Additionally, I have kids to educate, mortgage to pay, etc.. So I decided to draw the line at the TSA-120.
http://www.cloudynights.com/public/s...fault/cool.png. Portability. I wanted a scope which will be happy on a lightweight mounting one day if needed. The TSA-120 looks to be a pretty portable scope for an almost 5" refractor.
If I didn't already have a 10", I would have gone for the TOA.
I just hope the scope lives up to my expectations... though people overwhelmingly talk glowingly of it, I've nonetheless read some stories about scopes having to go back to Takahashi in Japan several times to fix problems. It's a little unnerving spending such a large amount of money on something you've never actually seen up close or touched... or indeed looked through.
I'll post back after first light...
Russ