I fly Futaba Now as I did inthe 80s. I did swith to JR for a while, Futaba just stuck with their Zap radios.
I bought a 14MZ which I couldn't afford, I ate allot of PB&J sandwiches for a while. But the way I see it, I will use the radio in a number of planes and it will last years, so its worth it. I kind of talked myself into it (which really didn't take much!).
But I still fly with my 7FGK in a couple models and they fit the bill perfectly.

I think what ever you need to enjoy your experience with your plane is what you should be looking for.

DM