I think the initial cost of the printer is only one part of the equation. The ink cost (replacement) is a large factor to be considered also.
Large format printers are all fine and dandy if your output requires such sizes on a regular basis, but if 80% of your output is A4 and you rarely need anything larger than 11X17 than IMO the larger printers (unless there is a compelling feature) are a bit of an over kill.
That being said, I threw my own logic out the window and bought an Epson 3800 to replace my aging Canon i9950. The colour output in terms of saturation seems equal but the clarity and fineness of the 3800 is much better than the Canon. I also believe the epson inks will have a better life than that I've seen on some of my older canon prints which seem to have faded over time. There is no comparison in the quality of the 3800 B&W output, it's simply in another league altogether.
What really focused my mind with the Epson 3800 was the ink cost, the printer complete with inks cost €800 and a set of replacement carts is €400. It has about the least ink waste changing from matte black to photo black of all the smaller pro printer range.
I'm sure if you're in the USA there are good rebates to be found on the 3800 at the moment due to it being replaced with the 3880. It might make it almost within reach when one considers the extra qty of ink that comes with the printer (11ml v's 80ml).
It was also discussed here
http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2082
