When I was looking, my budget was much smaller than yours. I got the Juki F600 for around $1100. Since I had never heard of Juki, I did some extensive online research and the reviews were great. At my local dealer, I tried several machines (which were out of my budget) but I found I preferred the Juki. The throat space is about 8.5 to 9 inches. I still love my machine but with your budget you may find one that has an even larger throat (but also look at how tall the throat area is too). I would definitely recommend needle up/down and the knee lift. I didn't think I would use the knee lift but now it's a "must have" on my list.
Happy hunting!