I have an HQ Avante without the pro stitcher and it is lovely! 12 frame and a ten foot quilt easily fits.
Our sales person did not pressure us into buying any extra bells and whistles and even gave us the option of upgrading with the pro stitcher at the show price for a year. We use a few rulers and pantos but mostly free motion quilting on our quilts as it is so easy!
We paid just under $10,000 (canadian) and manage to recoup some of this cost by letting other quilters rent time on the machine. This gives me the pleasure of quilting all of my projects myself (my husband too as he quilts as well) and also the pleasure of meeting other quilters and giving them the same opportunity.
Good luck with your shopping!