Originally Posted by Jamiestitcher62

My choice would be a Janome 7700. I think you can get them on sale pretty reasonable now. The 6600 is awesome, but it is a heavy machine with no free-arm. The 7700 is so far superior to the 6600 it's not even funny. I have the 11000SE too, however I find I don't even use the embroidery at all so the machine sits there while I pound away on my 7700.

Babylock is nice too, but you can save money by buying the Brother version of any of the Babylocks that have a sister made by Brother.

My Bernina 440QE is great but I do wish it had more space. The stitch regulator is O.K. but I don't think it's all it's advertised to be. Also have the 820 which I'm sorry I brought. It is VERY difficult to use and the instruction manual leaves a lot to be desired. VERY expensive and, IMO not worth it.
According to my local sewing machine shop, the Berninas are awesome machines, are outragious in price and are in the shop more than any other machine, but people like the name and when you mention the name Bernina, you get ooohs and aaahhs every time.