I've used these speakers for a variety of uses, and they've never been a disappointment. In my studio they make excellent monitors, providing clear, distinct sound at a range of volumes. On stage they can be used as traditional floor monitors (taking a feed from the mixing desk), or you can use the 'in' and 'thru' sockets to connect just your own microphone to the speaker and then thru to the mixing desk. This only gives you your own vocal in the foldback (but often that's all you need). I have some of the 15" versions of these for PA use and for playing keyboards, but in a tight space gig I've played keyboard through one of these 8"s (instead of one of the 15"s), and to be honest I didn't really notice the difference. I've also used these as a small PA for a 2 or 3 piece acoustic gig. With so many uses, every musician should have a pair of these.