I can get Curados new for $120 and Chronarchs for $220 new. Is it worth the extra $100?

I mean, is it really that much smoother and better at casting?

yes it is

If your looking for left hand I have a like new CH101B for $150

Point of diminishing returns, but in my book its worth it.

It depends a lot on what you consider to be worth the extra money because it´s not all better casting & smoother, from that point of view, yes it´s worth it, however not everything is milk & honey.

The Chronarch has a lot smaller spool than the Curado and that is going to count when or if you are planning to spool heavier than 12 lbs test line, even at 12 lbs the reel doesn´t hold much of it ( around 90 yards ), shure you don´t "need" 120 yards of line to fish, actually you fish with less than half of that, the catch is that those 60 yards ( give or take a couple ) are wrapped around a larger surface than the remaining 60, so when you go past the point of the first 60 being spooled on a larger surface the rest of the line is all tight coils.

So the line in a Curado because it has a larger spool is going to behave better than the same line spooled in a Chronarch simply because it´s going to be wrapped around a smaller surface.

If you plan fishing with heavier than 12 lbs line the Chronarch is not exactly the reel I recommend. Unfortunately in this case Shimano discontinued the versions that had the deep spool you would like to have when fishing heavy line. To my knowledege there are still no aftermarket deep spools for the Chronarch/Metanium. ( I´ll have to check that )

Ok, I found the deep spool:

Yumeya Deep Spool ( Metanium Mg: compatible with Chronarch D )

Cost: 9,500 yen

0.330 mm = 110 m

I've cast both reels with 50# braid, and haven't noticed much difference. The Chronarch is better for me, ergonomically.

I've cast both reels with 50# braid, and haven't noticed much difference. The Chronarch is better for me, ergonomically.

Good point J, ergonomics, if it doesn´t fit like a glove then don´t buy it.

Anybody here got a TDX ? performance wise: man what a fantastic reel ! silky smooth, cast a mile away, I owned the Super Tuned version, notice the word: " owned ", past tense of own, I seldomly sell something and that was the case of this particular reel, it never felt "right", something in the proportions made the reel uncomfortable for me, and think of, it´s like having a pebble in the shoe, so doen´st feel right then it´s subject to be sold/traded/given away. What I got instead ? a Chronarch 100 SF.

IMO, If I was to go the extra $100 for the Chronarch I'd go another $50 and get the Core which is 2oz lighter than either. Shimano website has a "Compare" feature where you can see models side by side.