I had used a bunch of cheap USB speakers, and even a Fender Can Amp until finally breaking down and plunking the cash for the Street Cube. It was way more than I wanted to spend for the amount I use it (I really should be busking to make it pay for itself) but I was sick of limited range but mostly volume in battery-powered devices.

What sounded fine in my home studio would be drown out at a wine-and-cheese art show by the most soft-spoken bunch of Unitarians you've ever met. Don't ever underestimate the REAL volume you'll need to perform in a crowd. You also need a decent sized speaker for the rhythm section to sound at all convincing. Wish I could have found a cheaper solution, but I figure at 50+, what ever I buy is probably going to be the LAST of that particular item, so why cheap out on myself after sacrificing for a wife and kids the past 20 years ?

Some people I know by Harleys and cruise to weekends in Vegas with their buds. The way I see it, an amp under $300 is pretty reasonable.

Jan - 12 Core AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
32GB DDR4
Win 10 64-bit
Samsung m.2 SSD Boot drive,other SSD internal and USB drives.
MOTO 2
Ketron SD4,SD1000
Yamaha RX-v381amp
VB-Audio virtual cables