I picked up a pair of Meopta Meostar HDs for $800 on Ebay, they're 99% the excellence of the Big 3 for a grand less. You can read reviews on them at Cabelas.com, where they're sold as the Euro HD, or on bird watching sites. They're made in the Czech Republic, next door to Austria, in the same way and with the same materials...you're just not paying for a world renowned brand name.