pooch,

Another factor in choosing your playback equipment is the type of gig you are playing. As if you are playing a 2-3 song set at an open mic I would set my criteria at #1. best sound quality and #2. lightest hardware to carry with ease of setup and take down.

The reasons I use laptops are the opposite as I will do anywhere from 20 - 50 songs on a gig. So for me to remember all the changes and arrangements, some as you know very intricate on some jazz tunes, with all the lyrics the laptop is a must. Besides the comfort zone of having everything printed out in front of you at all times there are the files containing hundreds of tunes that may not be on the play-list for that gig but because of a spur of the moment incident or a request could be plugged in rather quickly and may just be the song that puts your show over the top for that particular crowd.

OK, beside that I am a control freak on the gig.

I guess what you are getting here are all good options as each one works very well for the musician who are using them. With that said the same would have to happen for you, and that is personal choice.

Best of luck to ya, and break a leg!

Later,