Okay, an update on my audible alarm (or lack thereof)! I hauled that baby - about 35 pounds worth - to the sewing machine place. Turns out there is an audible alarm and it is on - but you can barely hear it. And I mean barely hear it. I had to listen several times to hear what the repair tech was telling me was the alarm - a very, very, very soft sort of buzz. I think I might hear it better if I could sew with my head resting on the bed of the machine - maybe. In other words, worthless as far as I am concerned. There is no way to change the volume either. I am quite disappointed.
My other problem with the needle threader is apparently operator error but I am not sure I will ever be able to hold my mouth just right enough to get the darn thing to work. The needle threader on my ancient Pfaff was much better and almost fail-proof. Again, I am really disappointed.
On a brighter note, the tech did adjust the bobbin winder so it doesn't stop when the bobbin is only half full.
I may send an e-mail to Pfaff to let them know about these problems since I am apparently not the only one experiencing them.