Quote Originally Posted by light-o-matic View Post
The problem with PA tops in this situation is that sure, they can go loud.. but despite their large size, they don't go very deep.. so the bass isn't as satisfying as one might like. You can eq the bass up a bit, but the fact is that if a speaker is tuned to roll off at 60-70 Hz, you are not going bring that bass back.. whereas a speaker that is designed for personal listening can afford to tune lower, even if it means they won't be able to go quite so loud.
Exactly this,

I run a hire business and have a pile of Party box 310's. They are VERY popular with your average party holder as not only are they fairly loud(roll off is below 50hz-I think JBL say 45hz and it sure sounds like it) but they run ALL DAY on battery at 50% volume with one notch of bass boost. They even stand mount and have surprisingly good sound. I was quite skeptical that they would be any good but I love them as do the public. You can run the whole thing wirelessly too(Bluetooth to speaker, bluetooth between two speakers(their TWS) AND on battery) with some lighting thrown in. Can even add wireless mics with wireless receiver and the WHOLE thing has zero cables.

For a house party, two on poles with a small smoke machine and one or two other lights, you've got a pretty loud party that suits basically most people.