Will try to make this brief, but my wife wanted to get into intarsia, especially, and other things that would require a scroll saw.  My woodworking shop is pretty well equipped, but did not have a scroll saw.  Looked at several brands, prices, etc.  Read lots of reviews.  The DeWalt is at the top of the mid-priced machines.  Although it was a new venture and we were unsure if it would become a long-term use thing, decided that a cheap one would probably sour us on scroll sawing altogether.  We don't have other scroll saw experiences to compare with but can say that we have been very pleased with the performance of this machine.  The quick blade release is an absolute must have.  The throat depth works well for us.  It is smooth running.  Don't know how a $1,000+ machine could be that much better?