IMHO, I think it depends on the person. Many times you buy the expensive machine, are thrilled to death, bring it home and the then say to it, "Do something wonderful." and it just sits there and does the same old things your old one did. . . and you wonder why you spent so much money.
If you are willing to explore, make mistakes and maybe swear at it a little, you can learn the wonderful things this new machine will do. You can take lessons. . . why reinvent the wheel. Sure you can eventually figure it out but a lesson will show you how to do what you wanted and a whole lot more that you never thought of.
Do you have the patience to do all this? It will make a lot of techniques easier and more professional looking but do you want or need new techniques? Lets face it I like my toys. I like puzzles. I like learning. So, yes the high end machine makes sense to me. Figuring it out is half the fun. I went for it and love my Bernina 820 (I'm not into embroidery) but I'm not you.
Hope this helps but I'm afraid that in the end it is all up to you. What you like, want and need.
Good luck with your decision. Let us know how it worked out.
Last edited by bobquilt3; 03-31-2012 at 06:44 AM.