That's a good choice of tv, I have a 63" Samsung 3D plasma and that has excellent picture quality. The 8000 series are definitely some of the best out there atm (of course at that price you could also get a very good 3D projector but that depends on your needs and viewing habits)
Soundbars are a good alternative if you don't want the hassle of (or have the space for) a full surround system. Though they'll never be as good as a dedicated surround setup they can be very effective depending on placement and room shape etc. The good ones are not that cheap though and you could get a decent dedicated setup for a similar price. The Yamaha sondbar is still regarded as one of the best I believe. You should have a look over at avforums.co.uk plenty of info there
also forgot to mention Samsung have just announced their latest line up of tv's at E3 so depending how much you want one now it might be worthwhile to see if you get any better deals on the UE65ES8000