Yes and no. It depends on what you want your machine to do. You can do amazing things with a very simple machine. BUT, that being said, some of the bells and whistles are really nice to have. Also, if you don't want to drop that kind of cash but want a high end machine, you could consider buying used. My Mom bought a used Pfaff at a local sewing machine dealer...she spent $1000 on it, new it was twice that. She's used it for ten years now and the only thing that has gone on it is the bobbin thread sensor...and she just doesn't want to pay to fix it.
