Back in the olde worlde, the SW ED80 is considered the de facto starter scope as they're easy to get hold of and relatively inexpensive (under $700). They're a bit slow for my liking though. The Meade is a triplet IIRC, more pricey for sure.
Since I've been here I've seen all kinds of imaging scopes big and small, folk seem to be much more adventurous, almost got me wanting a f/4 imaging newt
