Yeah, this is always a tough call. You didn't mention your budget but your "ouch" sort of says it. In reality, the guy was right. The Eon's are probably the best along with the Mackies. I've used JBL's for years because they sound the best, that simple. I just did gig at a club where they had 8 Mackie 15's and those sounded pretty good too. Unfortunately, those are the same price as the JBL's.
We went on a 3 day cruise to Mexico a few years ago on the Monarch of the Seas and there had to be at least 100 JBL Eon 15's on that ship. The ship has 4 or 5 big night clubs seating like 3 or 4 hundred people each, the band at the pool (8 Eons there), several lounges and I can't remember what else. In the main showroom that was 3 levels, I counted 22 Eon's both on stage, and hanging from the ceiling, the sides and the rear. There was a party band in the central reception area to welcome everybody on board and they were going through 2. Both the quality of the entertainment and the sound was first rate. They are probably the "go to" pro system for sure. I have a friend who is a wedding DJ. He uses 4 Eon 15's and 2 Yamaha 12's. All are the powered models.
Going down a notch but still pretty good is the Yamaha Stagepas. I think it comes either with the 8" woofers or 12". Get the 12's. I've always felt that Yamaha was the best price/sound compromise if you can't go JBL. Another possibility is the new Bose L1, heard good things about it but I don't know how much bass it puts out.

Bob

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