I just bought a new Janome horizon, I kept my Janome 6500, I do all of my own quilting, The 6500 had a 9" throat and the horizon has 11", they both have auto thread cutters which is great when Free Motion Quilting. (one of the reasons that I bought these). I kept the 6500 because the horizon is hard to travel with, but I like both, But the longer throat is great for larger quilts.The only thing that I am not crazy about on the Horizon is because of the extra lights(which I love)it makes changing feet a little more difficult., Good luck, be sure to test drive.