So where's the LXD55 made?

Okay, here's the final word on this subject.

On the LXD55 SN telescopes: The mount and OTA are made in China. The optics are made in Irvine.

The stuff from China is sent to the Meade factory, where the optics and electronics are installed. The completed scope is then shipped to it's final destination (you).

With the refractors (AR-5 & 6), everything is made in China. However, they still stop off at Meade, because they need to wait for a mount (see above).

This is reliable information, given to me from one of Meade's Vice-Presidents. I told him I was going to post this information because people are confused about how much the folks at Meade actually have to do with the scope. What might be the source of confusion (I didn't think about this until now, so I didn't ask) is the boxing of the products. I bet that the final boxing of the product is done at Meade...that would make sense. But they say "Made in China", because they are. So, when the boxes look like they haven't been opened before, that's because they haven't been.

Hope this helps....hang in there!

Penny @ Oceanside Photo & Telescope