I hear ya Diki and of course I see your point. But we are trying to make an arranger SOUND like a live band, and we don't have a live drummer and bass player, although we're gettin' closer.

I have done a huge Mardi Gras party for our church (Catholic) the past 8 or 9 years. Last year there were nearly 400 people there. I generally use two Bose L1s, although I have done it with one L1, and also with two Compacts. The two L1s did a great job; the two Compacts just adequate and were maxed out, but still good sound. When I used a Tyros to do it, I ran the drums out to two channels in the mixer and e.q.d them in order to get them to sound decent. This was not necessary on Roland or Audya. (I tried it and the difference wasn't worth the trouble).
Anyway, this year a new person was in charge and made a change and hired a "whole band". They had a truck load of gear. (Turns out her brother was the singer). I didn't go, but people are still complaining that it was painful on the dance floor and you couldn't hear anything but a roar in the back. Point is that it takes more than bodies to make a good sound, regardless if it's an arranger or individual instruments. They have already booked me for next year's party, in February.
I think we are all on the same page, but if you are going to do something BIG, you still need to do it RIGHT. I guess my point is that the audience, at least this audience, wants to be able to feel the beat on the dance floor, but still hear things clearly, even at the tables in the back.
I'm still not convinced the effort to use individual sound sources and individual amps and speakers for those sources would make people think there is a "real" band unless perhaps they were not watching, only listening.
In my opinion the number one advantage of having more than one band member is the interplay between members, not only musically but with regard to showmanship. BIG disadvantage is that the money must be divided among the band members. I only have to divide it with my wife!
DonM