Re: Ready to take the plunge on a PA - will this work?
The Yamaha outfit you mention is certainly nicely designed and well built. That said, I am not a huge fan of 15" speakers for a number of reasons - one being that for smaller gigs they are a bit of a PIA the cart around and tend to sound a bit unbalanced (to my ears). I also, like others, prefer integrated bi-amped designs these days, especially now you have such light (weight) digital amps proving the power. Huge, wound transformers are thankfully a thing of the past for this application.
I would also totally endorse A&H mixers. They are absolutely first class. Excellent preamps, beautiful EQ. Really, really hard to beat. You really have to look at stuff like Midas for anything that sounds as good - and that ain't cheap, though Soundcraft also do some nice units. Personally, having used a lot of mixers over the years, those are the only three I really rate.
So, I would look for an A&H ZED (or PA) series desk depending on your needs, and a nice pair of powered 12" speakers. In addition to those Foldedpath lists (which are all good) I would also add the Yamaha MRS series as worth checking out, especially the MRS 250 if you really want something powerful sounding but very compact (it has a 10" driver) but still delivers a good low end. These are a very nice sounding speaker, and are ultra-reliable. If you are putting electric or acoustic bass through it though, I'd stick with a 12" design. Something along those lines would give you pretty much what you need I suspect, with no compromise on quality (or reliability).
Gibson F5 'Harvey' Fern, Gibson F5 'Derrington' Fern
Distressed Silverangel F 'Esmerelda' aka 'Maxx'
Northfield Big Mon #127
Ellis F5 Special #288
'39 & '45 D-18's, 1950 D-28.
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