I own a Orion Skyquest 8 inch dobsonian telescope, it is far superior to the Meade 8 inch that my friend has in just about every aspect that you can think of except weight. The Orion seems a little heavier, but it is also made of metal not a cardboard sonotube. If you are a beginner dont be misled by computor telescopes that a cost much more and dont deliver. I.E. Meade Etx 90 MM. They dont have enough aperture to see most of the items that their computors are designed to find. Stick with a 8 inch dobsonian that is easy to assemble, doesnt need to have a expensive stand purchased for it so you can use, and wont out grow right away. With the Orion dobsonian I see just as much as several of my friends do with much more expensive SCT scopes.
I have no complaints about about the Orion dobsonian.