i had the brother 1500s and i loved it. i sold it and the frame only because i went larger to the tin lizzie.
but the brother was smoother, quieter and all around better. it has the auto-cutter, which is great. it's a heavy machine, so there is very little vibration. i didn't have any optional accessories, but it really did what i needed.
note: isn't there a company that markets a 13" arm? and 15" arm?
because as much as i loved the brother, if you plan to roll up a large
bed-sized quilt under the arm, it still gets very tight when you come
to the end of the quilt and the actual quilting area has been
greatly reduced. the rolled-up quilt is now taking up most, if not all
of the space under the machine arm preventing it from moving all
the way forward. at the end of a queen quilt i was only able to
quilt a few inches at a time. that was the only reason i moved up.
the quality of the brother was MUCH better.