To add, I do have other machines. A Bernina 630 and older/mechanical Bernina 1030 are my favorites along with my 820. Same high quality, reliability, and ease/pleasure of use. The 1030 is quite basic, the 630 is very similar, but doesn't have the 9mm wide deco stitches, dual feed, jumbo bobbin, and 12" harp of the 820.
My machine that's the best value for the comparatively low price is my Baby Lock Quest Plus. 8mm stitches, dual feed identical to IDT (it takes Pfaff feet and had a Pfaff equivalent model, the Smarter C1100 Pro), hundreds of stitches, 9" harp, came with the straight stitch plate and a huge acrylic extension table. Only $1300 in 2010. Unfortunately, Baby Lock no longer has a similar model.