Yesterday, I happened to be at a local scope store that had one brought in for a look by a Meade rep. All I can say is this is one impressive looking scope! The older ETX looks like a toy next to it. It's quite heavy. I'd say over 30 lbs for the mount and the OTA. If anything, it's overbuilt. If it turns out to be relatively bug free, this will be one great scope.
-------------------- Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celeston Nexstar 6SE SCT
Meade 80mm APO Triplet
Televue NP-101
Televue TV-85
Vixen A70Lf
Vixen A80Mf
William Optics 66mm Zenithstar Patriot
Celestron CG4 EQ mount
Orion Skyview Pro AZ mount
Televue Gibraltar 5
Vixen Portamount