I have a Pfaff 2144 with all the upgrades so it's equal to the Pfaff 2170. I love the duel feed, needle down, being able to program the presser foot to raise automatically, the tread cutter, the embroider unit...I could go on and on. I have had Pfaff for about 17 years now and won't have anything else. I have a great dealer and dealer support is a big thing with the high end machines. The dealer will help you learn to use the machine to its fullest. I have not run out of things to learn yet! I paid about $6000 for the machine and the embroidery unit. It was money well spent. I have a Pfaff 7550 and a Pfaff serger, too. All I have ever done to any my machines is regular maintainence and that is a yearly cleaning. These machines are designed to be a workhorse and they are wonderful! When I worked at the LQS, we had Husquvarna Viking machines to use there. While the Husquvarna is a good machine, I still prefer my Pfaff. You just can't beat duel feed (IDT).