I caved to desire and got a new machine last Friday - a Janome MC6600P. I HIGHLY recommend this machine for free-motion quilting (NAYY).
Here's what I like about it so far:
It is clearly created with machine quilting in mind: it has a built-in walking foot for straight quilting, and a separate bobbin case for free motion that makes getting the tension almost foolproof. It has a speed control that it really precise - you can set it to almost any maximum speed, and then just floor the foot pedal and not worry about getting 50 stitches all on top of each other. It feels more precise than the Bernina because of that - and the extra throat space is wonderful. The straight stitch with the walking foot is lovely. I had been having severe tension problems with the Bernina when free-motion quilting, and I finally decided that it just wasn't meant to do that.
It is really fast on straight seams, and the 1/4" foot has a little guide (like a blind hemming foot does) that keeps everything straight.
It has an automatic "tie-off" that is very precise - so, you can put your needle exactly where you want to start, hit either the auto- bullseye or auto-reverse stitch, and it will either stitch in place for 4-5 stiches or go forward, then back, then forward to secure the seam. When you get to the end, you hit the auto-reverse and it does the same thing at the other end. I could never tell where the Bernina was actually going to finish when I used the automatic tie-off - sometimes it would end up 1/2" or more forward of where I engaged it.
It has a thread cutter, and I am already addicted to that. You finish something, you hit the button, and it raises the needle and clips the threads.
It is a heavy metal case, and has no freearm, so when it fits down into the table it is flush, and there is NO dancing around like the plastic Bernina. We had to cut a bigger hole in my table because it is such a freaking beast, but it works great now. The Bernina 1090, with the metal case, always felt more substantial to me and (I think) really was probably a better machine. For example, on my Bernina the knee lifter would work it's way out and fall off because of the vibrations. This one hasn't done that at all.
It has more decorative stiches than my Bernina, and two alphabets.
The feet and bobbins cost a LOT less than a Bernina.
I think if I had not been so pissed at the Bernina, I could have gotten away with a Janome 1600, which is the straight stitch only machine. It's about half the price but I didn't want to have to fool with two machines. In reality, I almost never use any of the other stitches anyway, except for a zig zag. I am glad I went ahead and got the one with all of the stitches.