I purchased a Brother PE780D last year. I got it because the Bernina Deco I purchased almost 20 years ago was also a Brother patent and both machines use the PES format. They both use the little cards of which I have spent a small fortune purchasing over the years. The newer Brother also takes a USB stick which allows me to use the many designs on CDs that I had purchased to be used with the Magic Box. The Magic Box will not work with my newer computer as it has no place to plug in the Magic box.
While the Brother machine has a bigger hoop capacity I don't like the idea that it loads from the opposite side than my Bernina and the hoops etc. are not compatable. While I don't use my embroidery machines everyday they certainly come in handy for occassions like Christmas. I decorated about twenty T shirts as gifts this year. The thing I like best about the stand alone embroidery machines is that I can be sewing on my regular machine while the embroidery machine is doing it's thing.