I bought the Janome 8900 last August. It is a wonderful machine. It has so many beautiful stitches, and some really handy stitches for quilters. It has stitches that will lock stitch at the beginning and end of a seam. It has the special foot that makes sewing over several layers easy. It also has the 11" harp space that makes it easy to quilt. It costs a little more than the 7700, but not a lot at my store. I have been very happy with my new machine.