Plasma thoughts & suggestions for a noob.

[trombone dixie]

I've used my LCD monitor for blu-ray viewing for far too long and saved up enough for my first full set-up. I've decided to go plamsa because the top three 2011 models on cnet happen to be plasmas. After hours of research I've narrowed it down to three models:

Panasonic VT30 Series (55')

Samsung PND8000 Series (51' or 59')

Samsung PND7000 Series (51' or 59')

I honestly don't care for 3D as I will scarcely watch blu-rays in 3D. So if you know of any non-3D plasmas that compete with the picture and black level quality of these three models please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions on which one I should get. According to cnet the pq wasn't much of a difference between the 7000 series and 8000 series. If that's true I wouldn't mind saving extra money. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and thoughts.

Ps. I'm also in the market for a sound system, etc. For my first set-up I was thinking of just going for a soundbar because this TV will be in my bedroom until I move into my own place. Any suggestions on audio would be awesome as well.