I test drove the pfaff yesterday. Would you believe the needle threader gave us a fit. Lol. And the walking foot doesn't have a seam guide bar either. The stitch was fussy to regulate and it seemed pretty noisy compared to the brother. The lady told me that she hasn't used it in a couple months and she said it might just need oil.... I played for about 45 minutes so I think I gave it a fair shake.
The only trade off would have been speed control. I just couldn't see getting a 5/6 year old machine in exchange for the 1500s. I am keeping my brother and played happily with it last night on some practice sandwiches. She's really a great machine. Now i need to figure out a name for her.
thanks for your suggestions and help ladies!!