Hi Azita,
I actually use both. I also kept the Brother PQ-1500. I have a Grace frame, plan to use the Brother 1500 on it for quilting. I had that idea in place before I made the leap and went ahead and bought the Janome.
I also have my Great-Grandma's antique Singer 66 in the original cabinet. It's a treadle, she also had a motor put on it. It went to my Grandma, then to my Mom (who never has liked to sew or quilt, so lucky me has it!). The last machine I have is a Singer Featherweight...I had been wanting one for a bit, and got it on an Ebay auction.
I honestly will say if I had heard about the Juki HZL machines before I bought the Janome, I might not have bought it. And it's nothing against it...I love it, and it does have a big throat area (11"). But it is a pricey machine, well worth it, though. In spite of it sounding like I have an unlimited machine budget, I absolutely don't. I don't have the money for a long arm, or a Sweet Sixteen set up. So I have tried to figure out the best way to set up my quilting room for the way I quilt. Prior to buying the Juki, I hadn't heard of that model series (HZL-300, 400, 600-each level up has more features included...more money, too, of course). The price of the 400 pkg is half of the Janome 7700, actually over half less (does that make sense..lol). I don't know how I missed the Juki HZL series when I was really getting serious about the Janome. Just overlooked it! I had been dreaming about the Janome 7700 for over a year, though, and couldn't believe it when I was able to buy it.
I did buy both machines at sewingmachinesplus.com. I have had excellent customer service from them. As I said before, it is a personal decision on whether to buy from a local dealer or on-line. I make no judgments either way. If asked, I try and give as much honest info as I have. I enjoy getting honest constructive feedback, too.
Here are links to both machines, and the Juki 300, too. They also sell show models for less, I haven't ever bought a show model, so can't speak about them.
http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/ja...h-7700-qcp.php
http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/hzl-f400-kit.php
http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/hzl-f300.php
If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me.
Regards all,
Kif
PS I only kept the Brother 1500 instead of the PC-420 because I planned to use if on a quilt frame, and I knew I was going to buy the Janome 7700 to take the place of the 420. If I could only choose one of the Brothers, I would've kept the PC-420 because it has more features...and it fits what I would do with it, which is quilt, applique, sew. The 1500 is straight stitch only. The 420 has a lot of decorative stitches. The bed of the 420 is approx. 2" smaller than the 1500 ( like 6.5"-7" vs 9")
For the money, you can spend $200-$300 more dollars and get the Juki 400. The 300 is similar, but I think you have to purchase the optional knee-lifter separately. Sometimes you can talk to the sales person and work a deal to add in accessories. When you decide what machine you want, and if it's one that doesn't have knee-lift, but does have it as an option, maybe you can get it added in...worth a shot! For me the knee-lift is very important...it's a HUGE difference using a machine with that option. HUGE! Hope I haven't overwhelmed you with all of this...
K