I was at the Birmingham quilt show and the HQ S16 and the Babylock Tiara were both there. They are identical machines just with a different brand printed on the side of the machine. It would have been funny to see them side by side but they were in different aisles.
I really liked the way they sewed and would have bought it ($4500 without the stitch regulator which I don't want or need) but I wanted to compare it to the Tin Lizzie sit down quilt machine which the show price was $4000... and the dealer didn't have one to show off. He said he wished he did since there were several people asking about them.
My only biggest hesitation with the HQS16 was the pressure. You had to buy the machine during the show to get the special pricing, after that it would be msrp. She said I could fill out the paperwork and when HQ called to schedule delivery I could simply ask for more time until I made my decision but I figured I'd probably end up going to the Atlanta quilt show and could get the same deal there
I will say that I saw online about the Tin Lizzie table is really cool. It has a leaf already (that you don't have to pay extra for) that folds down when you aren't using it. The table was larger than HQ's table.