Originally Posted by
brandy123
I went to local dealers yesterday looking for a machine I could do free motion quilting and while I was there, the dealer had Janome 8900QCP on sale for $2400. Elna excellence 730 for $2300
The Elna 730 is the twin of the Janome 8200, so fewer stitches than the 8900. The Elna equivalent to the 8900 is the 760.
Now, there are updates to both sets of twins. The "SE" versions of the 8900 and 8200 are twins with the "Pro" versions of the 760 and 730 Elnas. These have improvements in the bobbin/needle plates.
$100 more for a Janome 8900 vs an Elna 730 is a no-brainer to me. Unfortunately I can't speak to the Babylock machines.
Michelle