I tried the sit down before I tried a long arm and I really thought I wanted a sit down. There were two issues that bothered me though ... I HATE hand basting the sandwich (but not as much as I hated spray basting, glue basting, and pin basting), and whenever I finished quilting on my DSM I would have to visit the chiropractor for neck/shoulder adjustments. So I bought a long arm. The down side to my LA purchase is that I don't have the space for it at home so it resides at our shop a few miles away.