Any experience with the OB1 bass series? 300W vs 500W? Can I run a head through a powered speaker or does it need to go to a designated bass cab?

So I'm gassing for an amp. I currently have a broken fender frontman 15 and I'm looking to get something future proof. I'm mainly a rock musician but could see myself playing reggae or indie in the future.

My current set up is bass directly into an audio interface and then out to a powered 1000W Mackie Thump speaker. Far from ideal.

I've been looking at Orange amps and particularly the OB1 as I love the idea of signal splitting + mixing in my distorted + clean tones to keep a nice fat low end.

My worries at present are that a 500W amp will be too loud the moment it kicks in. Is the volume at 7/8 o'clock reasonable to practice with or is this a pure stage amp?

I will eventually get a designated bass cab but currently don't have one. The 300W combo is £955 and looks quite nice but is about £400 overbudget currently. Would running a head into a powered speaker work in the short term whilst I scout for bass cabs?

So I'm just scouting looking for good 2nd hand deals but unfortunately I don't have a local store that's stocking these particular models so I could try before I buy. I've seen people selling them with the reason being that they are very loud.

Any tips, alternative suggestions or help would be mad appreciated.