Two years ago I purchased a Babylock Ellegante with all the bells and whistles for about $6000. I wish I had purchased two cheaper machines instead, one for general sewing and piecing and the other for embroidery.
Although I love my Ellegante, it is so big I have a hard time taking it to classes. I've only tried once to check out the embroidery features on it, but it takes a little time to set the machine up for embroidery. Much easier to have a separate machine already set up than to switch back and forth.