I bought my Bernina 440 QE this year with the BSR. I got a good deal on it and my Bernina Activa was acting up. While it was in the shop I really thought hard about this second machine. It turned out my Activa only needed a $100 repair so it's now my back up machine. The BSR has improved my machine quilting. I don't get the micro stitches like I used to. As someone mentioned, it gave me the extra confidence to do more machine quilting. Of course more machine quilting meant I got better anyway. It is not fool proof so if you want to practice, practice, practice, you can probably improve without it. If you're in the market for a new machine anyway, go for it.