A large area throat is very important if you quilt yourself instead of sending to a longarmer.
My first quilting machine was a cheap Brother but it dosnt have needle down which is important.
My newer machine is a HV Shaphire 830 with everything except embroidery. I love it. It cost 1100 when it first came out.
My Brother was 129 at Tuesday Morning.
My quilting improved alot with the better machine.