Why do you doubt collimation is the problem?  Collimation is probably  the single biggest cause of poor telescope performance around.   I  have been to star parties where almost every scope was out of critical  collimation.  Surprisingly, the owners of every one of these scopes  was delighted with their scope’s performance and would tell you the  optics were excellent.      One of the best things about the introduction of large, fast  telescopes is the realization that collimation is important.  Back in  the 60s – with the small, slower reflectors- most people had little  idea how to collimate accurately.      Yes, it is possible your optics are a bust.  Before going that route,  spend some time learning how to collimate your SCT (it’s very easy)  and get the scope into critical collimation.  Then, and only then, can  you start comparing optics.

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