There is a guy near you who refurbed a DM and made it real nice. I think he's on here too. His name is Bob M. If you are on Facebook you should join our local group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pinvid/
$1250 is a real good price for a DM if it's in decent condition. I wouldn't even think about buying an EM, but that's just me. Too boring and slow for my taste. Some people love them though. Depends on what you grew up with I guess. If you've played mostly SS and DMD's in the past I don't think you'd like an EM. There's a reason they are relatively cheap.