I've had the Brother cs6000i for three years and love it. I sew on it several days a week as it's close to the computer where I can watch videos while sewing--piecing, really. At the last quilt retreat I sat by a person with the small blue Kenmore and I'd say both machines were about the same noise level. The Brother has a lot more features than either the Kenmore or the Janome Gem.
The thing I don't like about the Kenmore or Gem is they have very few stitch sizes and I couldn't find one I liked for piecing. The small stitch was impossible to pick out and the next size too large.
Last edited by Belfrybat; 03-12-2015 at 08:31 AM.