Janome 6500 has a 9 inch throat. It does not have the dual feed like the 6600 but believe me, it depends on the user as to whether you like Janome's dual feed or not (I don't). I have read that they have improved on the dual feed on the Horizon which does has the 11" throat. For the money, I think the Janome 6500 is probably the cheapest larger throat machine you will find, even among all the brands.