Never used a Babylock. Love my Brother. It has lasted many years.

I own 3 Brothers machines. My first machine was purchased in 1959 at a Woolco store in Colorado. I still have it and it works just fine. I bought a 1500, which is "straight stitch only" works great. My last purchase was an INNOVA-IS (bought from a dealer) and I use it everyday. Love it.

The original poster was asking about low-end machines, and I don't have experience with those, as my last low end machine was bought in 1977 or so, and sold a few years ago (still working...should have kept it.)

I can comment on brand loyalty, though. When looking for my current machine (Brother VQ-3000) I started out sure I wanted another Viking, as I'd really enjoyed my Rose until she developed some terminal diseases. Found out that, while my Rose (circa 2001) was made in Sweden and was an excellent machine, the Vikings now are made in Asia and the quality is very different.

So it's a case, high end or low, of sewing on the machines and seeing which you like. Unfortunately, buying by Internet or in a big-box or discount store, that's usually impossible.

It's very hard to find a machine in any price range these days that isn't made in an Asian country. I don't think that being made in Asia is necessarily a negative.