I've had them all. Each has it's strong points and weaknesses. I found that I wasn't that interested in embroidery and the changing to embroidery mode was a pain in the neck. So through several years of buy-try-and trade-ins, I wound up with a dedicated Janome embroidery ( used mostly for labels and a few baby things ) and the Bernina 820 ( 830 minus embroidery). This works for me but I'm not convinced it would be right for anyone else. I do feel that the more complex machines have more problems and it definitely takes more time to learn how use all those bells and whistles. They can also weigh as much as 47 pounds so they aren't what you would call portable.
Are there any big quilt shows in your area? That can be a great place to test drive a variety of machines.
Last edited by bobquilt3; 04-02-2014 at 04:08 PM.