I have been on the fence about a new display for about 2 years. Recently I decided that if I could get something in 46" for around $1K I'd be happy if it lasted me just 3 years until upgrading. In other words $333.00 a year or so is worth it to get rid of my 15 year old 27" Trinitron!

That said, I stopped at the local BB today (much as I hate having to go there to compare poorly displayed sets). They actually had the S4676 next to the 46E2000. Perfect as these are the two I'm looking at. My observations:

Contrast: Sammy appeared to win, but this is under BB lighting. I'll admit the Sony may have been fine under better conditions.

Sharpness: The Sammy seemed over sharp, not nearly as smooth. This even after adjustment. The PQ on the Sony appeared nicer overall in this respect.

SSE: This is a big concern for me. Surprisingly it was more evident on the Sammy than the Sony. I was under the impression that the Sony's were really bad this way.

SDE: Not a factor for me at all

Rainbow: I've never seen it, so I guess I'm safe?

Brightness: I realize this is a store setting so it's pretty subjective but the Sammy was much brighter (too bright) while the Sony was maxed out and seemed a bit dim.

My biggest concerns:
- Blacks, DLP seems to win over and over again. Are all the Sony owners blind or is this just hype?
- Scaling SD content. Ive read through several posts stating the Sony can be a very poor performer for SD. As I doubt I'll be doing much viewing other than SD in the near future this is a big concern. Haven't seen much concerning this on the Sammy.

In the end I walked away favoring the Sony (it doesn't hurt that I'm Sony fan). BUT the rub is really the black levels and then the SD. I don't think I can take poor black levels.

I think the most basic rule for all of us in the market rings true: what do your eyes tell you?
Granted, the conditions in the big stores-Best Buy, Circuit City are often poor for seeing the true capability of these TV's. The feeds can be terrible and you rarely get to see over the air broadcasts. How can one ever be sure what they're seeing? I like to go into high-end, smaller stores that provide a better opportunity to see what a plasma, LCD, or rear projection set can do. I might BUY at CC or Best Buy....but I won't shop there. They're here to compete for the price I want.
I'm a SONY guy as well....but I'm drifting. Their products are always easier on my eye as far as PQ is concerned. I've been impressed by SXRD technology but totally turned off by the style of the set itself. They are butt ugly and when I see the streamlined plasma and LCD competitors I can't help but give them a fair shake. The 52XBR3 LCD is on my radar but not sure I can justify the price. Pioneer plasma's are nice but for 1080p they are expensive too. I include these options for their PQ first, style second.
MY eye tells me the images on these sets are smooth, sharp, have great color, great blacks, and have less noise than I see on other brands. I've been looking for a long time and I don't associate SSE at all with the SONY rear projection sets. The LCD's had a little but I could live with it. A good friend has a Pioneer 1040 Elite plasma.....it's very nice. Very nice standard def picture. No 1080p though. I may go that way if the next gen SXRD's don't improve their looks.
Your eye and my eye differ in that I see great blacks on the SONY SXRD and good blacks on the SONY LCD's......with the knowledge that LCD's are improving each generation.
I would say you already know where you're going with this. And with that I would strongly advise you to have whatever you get professionally calibrated.
You won't regret it.