I've never considered Bose because of the price and I just don't believe an 8" woofer in the Compact can cover a party. Maybe two but then we're back to price. I think the Kiss method is best . I have this system for my studio and small gigs. The mixer and cables fit into a gym bag, weight next to nothing and I can use one or two speakers (stereo !!! ) plus have the option of bringing one of my very small Peavey mic stand monitors to put the sound right in my face. Surprizingly powerful system and good bass for the dance stuff.
BTW I know I was kicking around the idea of the Yamaha DXR10's but I really like having my mixer near me so either having just a mixer to powered speakers or a powered mixer is a toss up. The powered mixer requires less cables.
Donny, if you ever want to spend a nice day in Cape May your welcome to stop by and demo it.
Made in the USA and very affordable. I also have the discontinued LM12 speakers (no longer available with the NEO magnets ) with a Yamaha 512 mixer I have used extensively and they are still amazing. Just found a used LM153 speaker for my organ/bass stuff.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/XP800L-PM10