Hi Chris,
As you know the main difference between the scopes will be light grasp, if you can put up with that you've jumped one major hurdle.
A 5 1/2" APO is going to give you very sharp edge to edge fields, better than the LX200.
And with no central obstruction your planetary detail is going to be mind blowing.
I think the mechanical construction and optical quality + size are going to go a long way to make up for the loss of light grasp compared to the bigger scope.
My Unitron 4" has a disadvantage in light grasp to my LB 12", but I like the mechanical and classically aesthetic look it has, that will never age.
So in simple terms..............GO FOR IT!!!!
