I have an 830 Sapphire that I bought used last fall specifically for FMQ because of the larger throat size. On the one hand it is clearly a well built, solid machine that makes a beautiful stitch. I personally had never sewn on a Viking before and found I just could not like the foot which raises automatically and is quite different from any other brand I have had. Also I have no Viking dealer even close to where I live and any additional feet such as 1/4 inch or walking foot seem to be very expensive. It seems to be a very nice machine overall, but I would suggest you try it out first to see how it feels to you and then find out what comes with it and how easy it would be to get parts and service. It is big and heavy so would maybe not be the best for taking places. This is just my experience, I know there are many diehard Viking fans.