I also have the Espire right now and it is a very nice machine--its similar enough to the Symphony that the girls in the shop who have Espires did not want to upgrade--not much different.
I don't really have any significant complaints about my Espire--it is a really nice machine. I bought it used and I think I paid too much, in hindsight ($1.5k). I have to tell you that I don't love my machine, but it is not the machine's fault. I'm not sure what it is...I am keeping my eye open for something with a larger throat. I'd like something closer to 10" and this falls at about 8". Otherwise, it does sew very, very well.