I'm starting to get some gig's DJing with the empeg... lots of fun.

Right now, my setup is VERY amateur. Please don't laugh! I have:

1. Empeg w. 22,000 tracks
2. Sony VAIO to control it. (laughing part comes next)
3. $50 Audio Mixer from Radio shack w. 4 line level inputs and 1 mic input (not XLR). I bought this for video editing back in the day and it's showing it's age, but I like that it uses sliders instead of pots and has very bright LED level meters.
4. Sony Dolby Pro-Logic receiver that I run in stereo mode w. 100 watts to each channel.
5. Some old DJ speakers that are make by a company that I've never heard of... "okay" sound.

I'd like to start off getting a DJ amp first. I just know this Sony receiver is going to overheat one day and kick into "Protection" by shutting itself down. What I'd like is some sort of level meters on the amp so if one speaker isn't kicking out sound, a quick look will tell me if the amp is getting a signal. A clipping LED would be nice too. Rack mountable. It also needs to be powerful enough to fill a small hall or gymnasium.

I just got $250 from a gig last week and would like to stay around that price range (if that's realistic). A quick search on ebay found this (which doesn't have level meters) and this.

I really know nothing about DJ equipment.... any help would be appreciated. Once I get this amp done, I'll bug you guys again for a DJ mixer (really only need two line level inputs and Mic) then speakers.

I can give you some info on DJ Mixers, turntables and DJ CD players if you come to that stage, but not on amps. Sorry.

I always connected my stuff at home to a regular amp (that was already sufficient for the neighbours), and when I went out DJ'ing, it was usually in a club or at an organised party so I didn't have to care about that.

The only thing I always took with me were my Ortofon Concorde turntable cartridges. No other cartridge has ever touched my records!

Oh yeah, something I DO remember about DJ equipment : it's damned expensive. So I don't think you're going to cut it with $250.
Professional DJ equipement is just that : professional. It's built to last and almost always from much better material than "regular" equipment. Hence the price premium.

I'm not looking into spinning CD's or records. Everytime I've been hired so far, it's because of the empeg. Someone can request a song, chances are that I have it - and I can queue it up before they return to the dance floor. Requests and variety are really my strong points right now. I havn't been playing to the techno or club scenes, so beat matching and the like havn't come up.

So far, 1/2 the jobs I get are at bars, so they have their own equipment to plug into. For those jobs, I don't need anything more than what I already have.

But then there are the "other" jobs where I'm just given a foldup table or booth to stand in...

I know by looking at your equiment that you're not in the Techno scene. Doesn't really matter. It's the fun that counts!

I just remembered that at a lot of the parties where I "performed" they used BOSE equimpent, both for speakers and amps. Always with very good results. I've checked out the Bose site and found this for you. Hope it helps.