I have had one for almost a year now, and love it for all the reasons everyone has stated. I had some quality issues with my particular unit, but eventually Janome replaced it... so far the new unit is fine. I LOVE the large throat space and the extra lighting. I use the knee lift all the time. At first, I didn't like that I had to move my leg so much to reach the lift, but I have decided that's a good thing. It keeps me from pressing on the throttle pedal while I"m lifting the foot.
One feature I depend on heavily is the settings "memory". You can configure the machine so that when you power it on, it comes on with the settings at which you powered it off. Like, if you change the stitch width or length or needle position. This is NOT the default configuration, however, so you have to specifically set this.