Sewing Machine Review - Brother PQ1500SL

I'm not sure if I was wearing it down, or just trying to sew too fast, but lately I've been pushing my Janome HD3000 to the limit and it was complaining.  Still was sewing pretty good and I'm not getting rid of it, but I managed to tear up 3 needle plates in a year and even with filing they weren't salvageable.  (Torn up needle plates leads to uneven stitches, fabric catching, and even thread breaking).  At $20+ a pop, it was time to decide what my next machine would be or what I could do to prevent that from happening.

I'm calling this one Captain Jack...Harkness or Sparrow is yet to be determined. Also, he's already getting blinged up!

I've been eyeing all of the 'professional' (not industrial) machines for a few years now, and avidly following every time someone asks for suggestions or reviews their machine.  There are a few that are mentioned a lot, the Brother PQ1500S(L), Juki TL2000Q(i), Janome 1600P, and now the Janome HD9.  The HD9 was what really got me interested, until I saw the price.  A lot of the machines have the same features, straight stitch, faster speeds, more room, and more power.  It really came down to price for me.  The Brother was the lowest priced and had some great reviews, plus a thread cutter (oh how I've missed that!), extension table, leg lift lever, and tons of feet!  It also has a pin feed system, which I'm hoping to try with some of my slippery fabrics.