I was using big heavy Peavey SP 2G mains that I bought new in 1996. I added two SP 118 subs and three SP 115M monitors over the years. My board was a 16 channel rack mount DOD that I also bought new in the 1990s. I powered it all with a trio of elderly Crown DC300C amps from the 1970s that I bought cheap in the 80s. It was decidedly low tech, but it didn't sound bad. And, it was stone reliable for nearly 20 years. That rig had paid for itself over and over again. The down side was that it weighed as much as the van that I carried it in and between that and my drum kit in cases it filled my van to the roof, front to back. Still, I didn't see a reason to replace it. With the exception of my Crown power amps, most of the stuff that I used previous to this rig was cheap junk. I learned my lesson. Although far from high end, the Peavey SP gear was reliable respectable gear. To me it was the right price point.
In 2010 I started gigging as a hand percussionist. That huge setup was no longer needed. I bought a Peavey XR8600 eight channel powered head. The frontman had a few small Yamaha speakers that we used as a main and monitors. It worked for what we were doing.
In December of 2013 I subbed with a band that had a Presonus Studiolive 16 4 2 digital board and QSC K-12s. WOW! It sounded good, everything was lightweight and it didn't take up the whole back of a van. It made me rethink PA sound completely.
I bought two used K-12 speakers to start. I bought a used Studiolive 16 4 2 and carrying case. I picked up a couple of more K-12s, this time brand new. Eventually I bought a K-sub to use for acoustic gigs and a KW118 for rock gigs. I stumbled upon a second K-Sub, this time used so cheap that I could not pass it up. It took me almost a year of saving and shopping to put this whole rig together. It is worth every dollar each time that I have to haul it and set it up.
I get the OP's comment that the "QSC and JBL are way above what my band mates and I can justify, most likely ever...". Each time I've taken my time putting together sound systems, waiting for deals, but getting exactly what I wanted. My Peavey rig from the 90s was a stretch financially at the time. I had around $3,000 into it. Although that rig doesn't sound fancy at all now, it did a great job for a very long time. I likely used it for easily over a 1000 gigs in that nearly 20 year period. I sold off the old rig piece by piece and got a little over $1,000 for it all. That more than passed the "bang for the buck" test to me.
I don't expect to get 20 years of use out of this new rig. But, by buying quality I can likely get some money for it after I've gotten my use from it. Since I finished putting together the QSC/Presonus setup in 2014 I've done over 100 gigs with it. I've already gotten my money's worth out of it. The rest is gravy.
I don't think that I'm a gear snob, I did use a Peavey PA for a long time. I do think that sometimes you get what you pay for, to me PA gear is one of those times.
.
