How about a Husquvarna Viking, they make fabulous machines

Janome Horizon 7700...mine is great!!!

I tried the Elna Excellence in Cincinnati on Friday and I was very impressed with it. It is a sister machine to the Janome Horizon, but has some feature I like better. I will be buying one in the next few months. I was leaning toward the Janome but this one changed my mind. It also has the 11 inch harp space.

I have never regretted buying the Bernina 440, with the stitch regulator (BSR). However, there are lots of good machines out there. Be sure you buy from a dealer with a good reputation for service, because that is really important. Jot down the features that are most important to you and be sure the machine you get has them. I purchased a service maintenance agreement with my machine (3 years in additional to the 1 year provided by Bernina) and renewed it this year for another 3 years. I can take the machine in as often as I want for cleaning, check-up, repair, and updates.

Check out the Babylock Symphony. I recently used one of these machines in a class and was soooo impressed. Wide throat, beautiful embroidery, best needle threader ever, great lighting, tons of decorative stitches, best circular attachment I've ever seen...loved this machine♥

This is what I own. It is from the Platinum Series, Quilters edition. I bought it off the floor as is, since it had been used at the Sisters Quilt show the year before. (Don't let the higher prices of attachments fool you though-I have found that all accessories for my Kenmore work wonderfully with it with the exception of the bobbins.)

Pfaff. I've had Kenmore and Janome.... and the Pfaff is by far my favorite of all. Perfect tension, stitches, etc.

I'm curious to know the price difference between the two machines. The Horizon sells here for about $2,400, but I have no idea how much the Elna sells for.

Check out the Bernina Dealer in your area. Sometimes they get the trade in machines and re sell them at good prices.

The Brother NX 2000 Laura Ashley is the top choice for now. Thanks for the advice.