All --
I just thought I would follow-up regarding my speaker search.
After 2 purchases and 2 returns (thanks for the no-hassle returns
http://www.WalMart.com ) I finally settled on a pair of these...
Behringer B215D Eurolive Speaker Active 550-Watt 2-Way PA Speaker System with 15_inch Woofer and 1.35-Inch Compression Driver - Black
...at Amazon there are lots of reviews...
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-B215D-Eu...+eurolive+b215d...at WalMart I was able to order and ship-to-store for free, plus a truly no-hassle return policy...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Behringer-Eurolive-Active-2-Way-PA-Speaker/17656029...and these things are pretty nice and pretty loud.
Thanks for all the great advice. I ended up using a mix of the various bit of advice that I got here and elsewhere. I really think that I made the right overall choice for me.
(Now I need to pick out a simple mixer.)
Thanks again.
-- Mark Kamoski