Very interesting. 7' seems close enough that you might get seasick watching a particularly motion-filled scene. Luckily I can move my couch between about 8' to about 14 feet from the screen so I'll find a sweet spot and stick to it. Currently it's at ~11' and the TV couldn't look better from there just on first impression.
As far as price, all things are relative. When I worked at Intel we bought 2 Panasonic 42" plasma displays. Our discounted price (from $20K retail) was $16K US each. This was in '99. While at the store yesterday there was the (very highly touted in AVS Forums) Panny 60u 42" pdp for $1518 US. Also, when I first looked at the JVC LSoS displays a 52" model was $2999 and the 55 was $3400. Yesterday I picked up (with a LOT of haggling: Auto salesmen hate me) the TV, Stand, and 3 year warranty for just under 2 grand. It's the most expensive thing I've bought since the Axioms 2 years ago. And it'll be well worth it.
