Buy what you can with the largest harp possible. I "settled" for a Brother PQ1500S due to the large harp, but what I really wanted was one with bells and whistles with a 12" harp. So, 3 years later I purchased a Janome 8900 and couldn't be happier. But I still use the Brother. I keep it set up for FMQ, so I can do a smaller project without having to change the feet and settings on the Janome. But I wish I'd just gone ahead and purchased the Janome right off the bat.
BTW, my Janome cost $2250.00 -- and has almost every bell and whistle I could want.