I have a Crown Jewel and love it. I think alot depends on the location of the nearest dealer to you as that is important. I set up my own machine and frame using the instructions without any problem but it took all afternoon and some time the next morning. I did not get the computer with it. Baby Lock had a class in St. Louis that was 4 whole days with Kay Capps Cross using the same machine and frame that I had bought. I got my machine at a quilt show and the class was included (although I had to get there and stay at a hotel). Baby Lock helped to find roommates at the hotel. I came away with such confidence in using my machine and was able to take off with it right away. Now in a year and a half, I have done 23 quilts on it and am able to do alot of freehand as well as pantographs, ruler work and groovy boards. People have started asking me to quilt their quilts as the quality that they see in my quilts at "show and tell" in my guild is better. I would recommend this class highly if you could do it. You can look it up on the Baby Lock web site. To me it was alot of money but worth every penny.
I love my machine and have had no problem with it. I can easily handle the tension as I learned all about it in my class.
Best of luck to you. The machine is wonderful no matter whether it is Baby Lock or Handi Quilter. I have a friend who got the Handi Quilter and the person from her local dealer came out for one day and that was the only help she got. Part of that time was setting it up. I think some dealers have classes that you can go to. Asking questions about how much education you can get is important.