DawnFurlong

I agree with so many others, this is a very individual thing. The best way to find out is to sew on as many different brands you can at different shops.

I sewed on a Pfaff 4.5 Expression recently. Lovely machine. Beautiful stitches. Smooth, quiet operation. IDT is wonderful. Couple of little things that I was concerned about (which I believe the issues and lack of info was due to the saleslady helping me - I think she was a bit confused). More $$ than I really wanted to spend, and the demo (plus other reviews over some issues a certain model had over the years) leaves me with the impression this machine might be more of a diva machine than I want to deal with (I've seen reviews where the machine is picky about thread, needles, etc).

Tried a Brother. Nother really wrong there, it just didn't have a WOW factor for me. Wanted to try a Janome Skyline 5, but apparently those are being phased out, and as the S7 and S9 are above what I want to pay, didn't try (I have had Janome, currently have an Elna 740 eXcellence that I am happy with - so familiar with Janome).

I had previously tried out a couple of Bernina's. Always out of my price range to get features I want, but as so many would not own anything other than a Bernina, I wanted to try it to see what all the hype is about. I didn't care for the machines I tried (one a more affordable to me option (read under $1k, the other way up the food chain with many nice features and the BSR) I didn't think the stitches were as nice as what I found on other machines, and I didn't care for the BSR at all. But that is just me.

Tried a Babylock Symphony. It was quite and smooth, but was acting picky during the demo and I had the impression again of "diva". I also was left with the impression that it would not handle (well) multiple layers, such as those found in a tote/purse. It had a delicate type feel to me. I might be wrong on the layers, but it didn't speak to me.

Then sewed on a Juki Hzl-DX5. WOW! That machine spoke to me! Love the sound, the feel (solid). No adjustments needed to be made when switching fabrics or when changing over to test FMQing. There are such great reviews on the F600, which is the machine right before this model. Rare to find anyone that doesn't love this machine. Feels like it will be a workhorse. Went back 4 days later to try it again (along with another Brother, which was again okay). But the Juki - it was speaking to me! She came home with me yesterday!! :-)

But, I felt good about my decision, because I tried a number of machines to have that comparison. I knew what features I preferred it have (auto-thread cutter at top of the list), I knew where I felt more comfortable at $$ wise, and other than the Pfaff, I didn't try machines that were way outside of my $$ comfort zone (once I determined what that was - which was after the Pfaff as I considered what I liked about that machine vs. the price and any reservations I had). I also watched numerous YouTube reviews on machines I was interested in and read many, many reviews.

Lots of great machines out there, but so much like a car - what speaks to one doesn't necessarily speak to another. I hope you find your dream machine (and have fun on the journey to find it)!!