I got the HQ Sweet Sixteen for Christmas and I'm loving it. I don't want to stand to quilt and don't have room for a 10 foot table, so this seems ideal to me. It is different from the long arm in the sense that you move the quilt around under the needle rather than moving the machine. It also does not have a stitch regulator so you need to learn to move smoothly to avoid varying length stitches but you can set the maximum speed as low or high as you want then just press the pedal fully all the time to keep the stitches even as well. You really need to try out the different machines at a quilt show if you can before you buy one. Mine cost about $5000 USD with table and bobbin winder complete.