I agree with Bernard the Beyer is superb, and may well be a good choice for you Branwen23.

And Alice, what you plug it into??? Well that is most important indeed.

I think excellent speaker are very important, chosen for the sound going throught them, the budget, and the venues in which they will be used. I love JBL enclosure, and use a pair of ML925s. These excellent speakers can put out a surprising volume of sound, with deep bottom and crisp highs. I drive them with about 1000 Watts from a Crown Amp. This is meant to be a small/mid sized system, but it quite good for large venues, and a full (acoustic) band. For a mixer I am using Folio - very low cost, high quality mixer (not built for the rigors of the road though, and I've had a road case built for them). I use two these mixers, one with 6 XLR inputs (mic inputs) and 10 over all ins - the other with 8 XLRs and 16 over-all ins. I inhereted these, and they've worked fien. If I was starting again, I probably purchase Mackie or one of the other more comonly used products.

I am firm believer in high fi speakers and amp, if you can get 'em. They make all the difference between a loud sound system, and an excellent sound system.