I love my Bernina 440 QE with the BSR. From what my dealer told me, a lot of people bought the 440 without the embroidery package. The embroidery capability was not being used so the 550 is basically the same machine but without the embroidery. This makes it less expensive to make so it is at a lower price. The new 700 series are nice with the larger capacity bobbins but they use different feet from previous Berninas.