I had a Bernina 185, not high end at all and I loved it except for the throat space. Never a problem with the tension, could use any kind of thread, not picky about what needle is used. Now I have the Bernina 820. It's definitely a computer! And it can be finicky. Recently when I went to CO to visit my daughter, I got a chance to re-acquaint myself with my old machine for some piecing. Turns out I missed the features on the 820 more.