For those familiar with Sonus Faber

I had the same question that you did. Between the SF Nova III and a used set of Serafino Traditions. I ended up with a deal on the Serafino that ended up being less than the Nova would have been. Couldn't be happier with that decision. 

@roxy1927    The Nova series is due for an update so I would wait. Regarding the Maxima Amators, I thought they were overtly "nice" sounding lacking bite/drive, could have been partially due to the Dan D'Agostino Progression amplifier. The current Nova 3 is a much better all-rounder. Hope the next Nova update will improve on bass refinement with added sensitivity and please offer the choice of the highest quality conventional speaker grills.

Where would you place the Elipsa in the Sonus Faber hierarchy? I heard them at a friend's place, and was impressed, but I have not heard the models mentioned above.

I auditioned the Novas and the Amati/Sarafinos.  The Amatis are noticeably just more speaker.  If you can make the stretch to the new version of the Amatis I'm sure you won't be disappointed.  @dayglow makes a good point that the Novas are due for an update.  It might be worth pursuing a timeline for that.  Good luck and cheers.  

I had a pair of the original Extrema's and they were MAGNIFICENT!!!