Alpines are good, but I don't like the sound quality. They sound a bit too rich in the mids, but if you really like that sound, and some people do, get them. In that budget range, I usually go with the biggest magnet out of a set of popular speaker brands.

I would have to agree that cheaper alpine is not that great, they have decent high end stuff but the sound quality on the low end stuff is pretty bad, unless its type R or better I would stay away from it.