Janome skyline S7 or Brother NQ1300/Babylock Soprano
 

I have sewn and quilted on just about every brand of machine over the past 20 years. I’m downsizing and need to get to one machine. I won’t be making very large quilts, just smaller wallhangings, machine Applique, home dec...and.....?
I'm having a very hard time deciding between the Skyline S7 and the Brother NQ1300/Babylock Soprano. I think I’ve ruled out the Janome 6700 because although I loved my 6500/6600, this time I like the idea of a machine that will save all the settings including tension and pressure foot pressure for a particular stitch, so I can go back and forth between projects without leaving a paper trail, lol.
i think my biggest concern with Skyline is the touch screen...looks like it provides a lot of great info, but will paging through it get tiresome? And is the new dual feed really a feature that’s an improvement over a walking foot? The older Acufeed was bulky.
I’m not so familiar with The Brother/Babylock advanced features...is the auto height adjustment a big deal? And will I use the sideways and backward sewing?As well, I think maybe I like the Brother free motion feet over the Janome
I like all three of the dealers offering these machines. The Brother is about $200 less than the Janome.
Now that I’ve written this essay :) can anyone give me some advice?

No disrespect to other brands, but for me - when it comes to sewing - it's Janome for sure!

The newer version of Acufeed is fabulous. It's on all the machines made after the Horizon 7700.
you just attach the adapter and then the different Acufeet snap on and off that.
It is far superior to Brother/Babylock for sewing over lumpy seams (e.g. where several seams join at the center of a star.)
I never use the "regular" feet. Acufeed all the time.

I also have an 8900 but wanted something a bit smaller for sewing away from home.
I had planned to sell it after upgrading to the Brother Dream Machine2. Unfortunately, as fantastic as it is for most sewing and all embroidery, the BDM2 (and every other Brother or Babylock I have ever tried) simply does not perform well when it gets to a lumpy seam ... such as you get when several seams come together at the center of a star.
so, i held onto the 8900 for those times i did not want to fight my way over lumps.
I had even started using it as my "away" machine instead of my much small Brother because it's just so much better all around for sewing.

I just picked up a Skyline S9 yesterday. It's slightly smaller than the 8900 (which is good for "away") and packed with everything i love about the 8900 plus more. It also has an embroidery unit that's a lot easier to attach, carry, and store. The embroidery features are not as advanced or sophisticated as on the BDM2, but that's to be expected. (the BDM2 costs 4 times as much, so it had better have more bells and whistles. lol)
(Like the S9, the S7 offers a setting that automatically raises the presser foot when you stop sewing. That's a feature that spoiled me rotten on my BDM2.)

so, with any luck i will be able to re-home everything except my BDM2 and have all the bases covered at home, and most of them covered "away."

i am a happy camper! :)

Thank you for your thoughts! Lyric, I’m kinda with you on the Janome...and also with you Patrice :). I know they are well loved but I had such a problem with the Horizon 7700 that I bought when it first came out that I think that experience has made me doubt how much I’ll enjoy a new Janome even though others have enjoyed Janome’s bought in the last five years or so. So, today is test sewing day with my own materials on the Brother. My local Janome dealer doesn’t have a Skyline for demo! Depending on how it goes with the Brother, I may drive further afield just to test the Janome.

the 7700 was the first model in the Horizon line.
my impression, based on things i've read, is that it was not all janome thought it was.
every Horizon after that, though, has been waaaaaaaaaay better.

i used my skyline all day yesterday.
it's a wee bit on the noisy side, but that might be the table i'm working on.
(i'm away from home.) i won't be able to do a proper "sound check" til i can set it up at my house in my normal sewing environment. everything else about it exceeds my expectations.

I would go with the Skyline, but that's totally personal preference. I don't like Babylock machines, but I don't know why. One of my favourite shops is a Babylock dealer, so I tried a number of machines a few years ago, but just couldn't "click" with them. I didn't expect to like the Skyline machines because of the body shape, but I tried one when Janome shopping with my mom, and actually really liked sewing on it.

Either try them both and see if one suits you better, or just try one, and go for it if you like it. They're both good machines, so you won't go wrong either way.

I like both brands but have bonded with my Janome 8200 which is a larger cousin of the Skyline.

I replaced a Babylock Soprano with a Skyline 7. I love the Skyline 7. The Skyline 7 has a great Accufeed, wide variety of feet, and does excellent stitches. The Babylock Soprano skipped stitches when quilting with the walking foot on individual 8 inch blocks that I was doing Quilt As You Go with. No matter what I did - changed and tried various needles, threads, settings, etc. I couldn't get the machine to do simple straight line walking foot quilting on the small blocks. The machine sewed nicely for clothing sewing on cottons and medium weight fabrics.

I have a Janome Skyline 7 and love it. I also have a 8900 and 15000. I love the auto lift on the pressure foot. Janome had issues with the 7700 mainly the switch plate. All machines that followed have been great. I would recommend the Skyline 7.

Janome 8900 Question on the AcuFeed. I don't have a dealer; she closed shop after I bought this machine. It has been a guessing game learning each feature after viewing the video and manual. I know to use the hook to engage. When I did a google search, it shows 9400 and it shows a setting icon to engage the Acufeed as a second step. Is there a setting on the Janome 8900 in addition to the hook engaged?

i don't remember ever having to change a machine setting once i physically attached the acufeed adapter.
just make sure the hook is fully engaged before you try to sew.