Powered cabinets all have gain controls. You will need to adjust the gain structure of the whole signal chain and the cabinets. In a house party, the "room gain" for any content <100Hz will be "heavily" reinforced relative to a large(r) room or outdoors. Once you high pass the top at 100-110Hz, the midbass will be able to put out more SPL. That will help to balance the total system. But, even if you can only run the sub on "5"...so what? Run it like that until you can add an additional top.
For my money, a 15" powered sub is preferable to an 18". The 18" will be 2-4dB louder (when running on "11"), and may have 5-ish Hz more extension...but will be in a box that is 1/3 larger and 50% heavier than the "corresponding" 15" sub. For house parties, even 10" and 12" powered subs are "enough."
Given what you have described, and the budget you have outlined, there is not much to recommend. Looking at your budget, adding a second Yamaha MSR250 may be the best next move.
The Yorkville 701p is an impressive powered subwoofer, but is more than 2x your budget at about $900. The Yamaha DXS12 is another reasonable choice, but is about $700 street price. The EV ZXA1-SUB is about $600 and is another reasonable choice. Any of these would get you to "club levels" of sound in the main room of a "house party" (900-1200 sqft).
Inside your budget, there is the Behringer B1200D for about $300. Behringer had a LOT of quality issues 15-20 years ago. They have largely overcome any actual quality issues, but retain the stigma. Frankly, as long as this sub isn't pushed to "11" it will likely be OK...but no better than that. I have heard several of these subs in "dance studio" and "exercise studio" spaces (1200-2000 sqft rooms with high ceilings). They were capable of filling that size space with sound without straining...it was NOT "club levels" of sound, but it was "responsible adult" levels of sound.
American Audio has some powered 15" subs that are also "entry level" in the $300 and $500 price points. I have seen and used American Audio mixers, CD players, and other "booth" gear...the quality, features, and reliability has been on par with other "entry level" gear in similar price points (Numark, Denon, etc). I do not have any experience with their cabinets to know how they stack up against similar offerings at the same price points.
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