I bought a Janome 8900 a couple of months ago and also was shocked at how quiet it is. I love the quarter inch foot with the guide on the right to keep your fabric from edging past the quarter inch mark. The stitching is wonderful and my seams and points now match! I love it. It makes sewing a lot easier now. I was using a Bernina 1530 that was 20+ years old and one day it would not start. I was also tired of paying yearly to have it repaired and adjusted for the past 3 yrs. So now I have the new machine and the LQS I go to is also the local rep. and repair.