I was and still am a dedicated Viking owner (Designer SE LE) but purchased a Babylock Ellisimo Gold 2 a few years ago. It was just before the Destiny came out and I got a terrific deal and price. I am very impressed with Babylock for many reasons - easy to use, quiet, came with lots of extra feet and on and on. Wish I had learned about these great machines years ago. Anyway, I have seen the Epic and it really is a nice machine with a big price. And these newer machines are getting really big!!! I,don't take my e,broidery machines out of the house - heavy and I don't like the slight movement in a car - all those electronics are kind of finicky. I had a D1 before the SELE - traded it for the SELE and it was the best thing I ever did. SELE can do so much more than the D1 - - big one is that I can rotate designs in 1 degree increments - the D1 only does that in 90 degree increments.
I'm glad you will be taking an Epic class before you decide. If you have a Babylock dealer close enough to you, I recommend that yuck check out their TOL - they may also have the Destiny that used to be the top that so,done traded in. It's always good to check your dealers before making this big decision - and try out the Babylock as a comparison. Just my thoughts.
Sandy in Mooresville, NC