[taxman (Matt)]

I am due for a fairly decent tax return (yippee!) so I decided I "need" an addition to my 8" inch dob and GSO plossls.

My criteria is (of course) portability, reasonable aperture, planetary and bright clusters with a budget of around $1800 (inc eyepieces).

After some research I am thinking the Vixen 80EDSf with portamount, 8-24 Baader zoom, 3-6 nagler zoom, 32mm TV plossl and a 1.25" Baader Moon & Skyglow filter.

I am a visual only (two kids and a 50-60 hour work week) person and I know someone who travels regularly to the US, so I can get the Vixen for just under 1K AUD.

In my research, I have considered (and rejected) the following:
Nexstar 4SE - too cheap (600US), ordinary reviews and most of the money is in a goto for things I can find on my own.
Meade 5000 - focal length too short for visual, not sure of a mount to suit that stays within budget
TeleVue 76 - A few hundred over budget (with mount) and short focal length
WO Megrez 88 - Great tube but optics a bit ordinary, focal length too short
Skywatcher 80ED - Got burnt pretty badly with a 90mm achro from this maker, and the tube seems to need too much upgrading (focuser etc).

Does anyone have any rebuttal of my above reseach, or experience with the Vixen? Any ideas also on my eyepiece & filter selection?

This will be my last windfall for some time, so I'd appreciate any thoughts...