I think you are right. I wasn't really comparing apples to apples. Dado sets for example, the ones I have seen at Timbecon were the same blade diameter, but different brands. It probably wasn't fair to compare them quality wise, but the cheaper set is $200 less (and only available with 5/8" bore). Hence my thinking was, "Do I get a saw with a 5/8" arbor to save $200 on a blade set?", but I guess the price difference could be due to 'quality'.
I agree, Sawstop looks/sounds awesome, but nearly TWICE my budget. The Harvey that I'm leaning towards is around $2200, while the cheapest cabinet style Sawstop looks to be around $4400. I know that will seem irrelevant if I loose a finger, but I'd have to save for another year to get the funds (and be using my rickety Triton for longer than I want).
Carbatec's current range (online anyways, never been in the store) is Sawstop, and a few of their own rebadged units, none of which take a dado set. I'd love to get their basic 10" cabinet saw, as the $1375 price tag is much more wife-friendly, but I figured as this was a purchase I was probably only going to get away with once (unless the lotto numbers come up), I'd stretch to a unit with a dado compatible arbor, left hand-tilt and the option to maybe fit a router table to one side.
I had thought that a blade from a dado set might suffice, but I could find a clear profile for these blades on a lot of sets. I have looked closer in to the CMT Precision Dado Set, and it does appear tto alternate a FTG and a bevel tooth, and is 1/8" kerf. This would probably do me for the limited use I was looking at (I do rebates and half laps with the Triton, but the glue surfaces are as rough as buggery, look messy from the sides unless I cut high and chisel down.) I could of course use the router table, but had a project in mind that would look nice with mitred-spline joint, and was after something much thinner than the router. The triangle bottom a standard ATB blade makes (or the rounded TCG) was just not quite pretty enough.
I will hit up Henry Bros Saws - Bandsaw blades & circular saw blades for an idea of price on a full FTG blade, but I'm guessing the blade from the CMT set will be more than sufficient for my needs.
I'm still thinking about getting the Harvey HW110LGE-30, more power seems handy, and I will just deal with the whole 5/8"/30mm thing if/when it comes up. The Laguna certainly has the best video production, but not that impressed with the aluminum fence rails, and the more powerful F3 is more expensive than the Harvey.
Thanks for all the advice so far guys, good to find someone who 'understands'. My wife's eyes just glaze over when I start talking about any of this :P