I had an old incarnation of this model and it was a workhorse....died after 20 years of heavy use (garment making not quilting).
i need a second machine (other machine is. Janome 8900 QCP) and I am very seriously looking at purchasing this model. It is rated very highly on several industry machine comparisons I found online and seems to have excellent features for the price range. I will be interested if any owners on the board will provide their input. Of course there will be questions about your usage, budget and feature wishlist.