The largest harp I have is on my 1910 Treadle. 8.5".
They discovered sewing folks WOULD pay a fortune to get that larger harp. AND building a bigger bobbin would cost them engineering bucks. Basically as long as sewing types pay the big prices, nothing will change. I now do QAYG COLUMN quilting and it is wonderful. Check out Candy Glendening's videos. The first video is a bit rough but it's good.

Buying the larger, fancier machines is fine if you want one. But they are not necessary to achieve great results. Some of the most amazing quilts I've seen were produced at a card table, w/very old machine in a 10' x 10" kitchen.

The 401 can use two spools on the top; it has two spool pins on top. On this thread we're talking about having a second spool where the bobbin is. My Eldredge Two Spool has that. There is a little can for the bobbin case and the spool that fits in there is a wooden one that holds 125 yards of thread. Most bobbins hold about 35 yards. You can't buy thread on such a spool anymore, but people have been nice and have saved some of those old spools. My machine will also wind thread on that spool from other larger spools.

I'm not sure the rising cost of new machines is due entirely to the larger harps. We all want our new machines to do back flips and come with lots of bells and whistles as well as long necks.

I live in an area where industrial machines are a fairly common thing to see for sale. They all have long necks. They are also more specific. Straight stitch, or just a straight stitch and a zigzag, etc. They aren't as expensive as the new quilting/sewing machines I've seen.

The newer domestic sewing/quilting machines all seem to have hundreds of decorative stitches, embroidery & font capabilities, mirror image & button hole selections. Lots of fun stuff.
It wouldn't surprise me if the new machines come with 'smart' options.

Imagine.....program your machine to turn itself on, thread itself, adjust the tension and maybe even make the coffee... from your smart phone. All ready for you to sit down and enjoy as soon as you get home from work, or as soon as breakfast is finished.....
:)

I want mine to dispense a handful of M&M's the instant it hears a cuss word in the morning, or if it's afternoon, a glass of wine. :D :D

Another aspect of the money angle is that the market for larger harped machines is smaller.

I want mine to have an 'undo' option!

that is a huge problem with some of those cars with those tiny rear windows. Mr. stitchnripper has one and I don't drive it. We have all those mirrors, and a big rear view one we put on, but, that blind spot to me is dangerous. He seems to manage, but I am very uncomfortable. His car is a 2011 model so doesn't have all the blind spot sensors. I drive a little Jetta which is great. Lots of vision.

I would agree with this. There is more of a market for say, cars, so there are more choices. How many quilters are there and how many of us want "that" machine.

What kind of car was it? I used to drive a lot of rental cars and I noticed that the low end cars trying to be higher end cars were like that. Tall seats because you have to have big headrests made for almost no visibility. That being said, my husband claims that driving my car is a bit like piloting a submarine :D

OHHHH, I'm so jealous! I want a bobbin like that.