I have an Ellisimo and every time I sew on it my hubby says he hears me say "I love my machine!" and I don't even realize I am saying it out loud! I researched and researched all the machines in this price range knowing I had a once in a lifetime opportunity (had a settlement coming in). Then I made a point of trying everyone of them out spending at least an hour and testing every aspect I could think of with different weights of fabric.
Finally there was no way around it - the Ellisimo won hands down! I have had it since June 2010 and have never regretted my decision once!
(By the way, I tested the Bernina 830, Viking Diamond, Janome 11000, and Brother Quattro.)
Now I will stop ranting on and on and say that you should test drive the Ellisimo to see how you feel about it in person.
Good luck and if you buy it, you will be surprised just how much you do use it!