My husband bought this machine for me about a month ago. I'm very new to quilting and sewing, but I read a ton of reviews to get tips after the machine arrived, and it got mostly 5 star ones. As a complete novice with no habits (good or bad) to overcome, this machine was extremely easy for me to get used to.
I love that it's heavy, solid, quiet, easy to thread and operate, and has a very large throat space. I don't love the lighting, but I fixed that with a nice LED strip from Amazon for just a few dollars. I love that it came with the table and all the accessories I needed to do everything. I also love the needle down feature, the automatic thread cutting, the hands-free raising and lowering of the presser foot, and fast bobbin winding. I've read many complaints about the location of the bobbin, but it makes sense to me that it is located there. This machine has an available frame for free motion quilting that would make the bobbin location perfect when in the frame. If I continue quilting, I believe I will eventually invest in the frame.
I also have read complaints about how short the thread cutter leaves the thread, but I always pull my piece outward and away from me, and it has never been an issue.
The needle threader seems a bit fidgety, but it's probably that I'm not doing it correctly. As I said, I am a complete beginner.
Overall, I absolutely love the machine. It only does straight stitches, but I have a Kenmore that I bought 25 years ago and used twice. It's in perfect condition and does multiple stitches, so I can always use that if need be. The Brother strikes me as a very sturdy workhorse that will be with me for years. It was easy to learn and after only a month I am quite confident in using it.