Well, after trying out that Soprano...I'm just not feelin' the love, so I'm not even going to consider that one. However, I came across a Janome 6550 on YouTube and oh my goodness...my heart started beating fast! It's a semi-industrial - has an aluminum bed and frame, a tensioner I can adjust myself, a 10" harp space, and most important...the serpentine stitch!
It sells for $1600.00, which is a lot more than I wanted to pay, plus it's an on-line only model, so if it needed repairs I'd have to send it back to wherever I got it. I called the sewing machine guy I use to see if he would be able to work on it, and he said no, not without invalidating the warranty.
So then I came across the Janome 6700P, which is an upgrade from the 6550. That one made the heavens part and the angels sing! It has an 11" bed and the extension table and knee lift lever come with it, in addition to numerous different feet. I feel like it was made for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3KJ2YfgR_s
I called a different Janome dealer and they don't have any in stock, but they can order it. Plus they offer an extra 3 year warranty with it. Their sale price right now is $2200.00. Ouch. But we're going to the dealer's today to talk to them about it and get some questions answered. It will probably be a couple months before we can actually buy it, but that's fine.
Does anyone here have that one? I'd love to hear about it.