A member of our NTrak club has two of the E7's. In all respects, I find them excellent - smooth, darn good sound, good pulling power. I'm in for 4 of the NKP PA's, which will be the first ones delivered with the correct side numberboards and Mars light. Though I haven't seen their prior run of PA's in person, I'm told they also are excellent.
BLI never should have announced a Pennsy M1. I understand today's mentality, particularly among smaller manufacturers: "Announce, get pre-orders to judge the market and then move forward or not depending on the response." The M1 fiasco has made them forever a laughingstock (unless, as someone pointed out in an earlier response, they actually build it and it is superb; if they don't build it, or build it and it isn't perfect in nearly all respects, they are forever hosed on the M1). But the M1 shouldn't make us blind to the fact that the stuff they have produced is pretty darn good. Would it be possible for us as a modeling community to simply forget they ever announced an M1 and simply judge the product they do bring to market?
Nah, I guess not.
But I'm still buying the PA's.
John C.