There seems to be a couple designs popping up with the pioneer 4" buyout speakers from parts express. Sometime this summer I'll have MTMs with those drivers and cheap goldwood tweeters while having the pioneer 10" buyout driver as my sub. The sub cost about $30 but is not powered. You might be able to buy some cheap amps for each speaker and still come below the $200 mark.
Mikey, is the $200 just for the speakers/kits? Or does it also include the receiver/amp? If it's just for the speakers and sub, I'd suggest you build the K05B50 kits from www.speakerpage.com. They will run you about $100 with shipping for the kits. As for the sub, I'd suggest the Dayton 10" sub for $22 from Parts Express tuned to about 30 hz. This is the exact computer set-up I have and it sounds awesome!! I'm using a Klipsch Promedia 4.1 amp I bought off of eBay to power it all. The sound is amazing. Much, much better than the Monsoon 2.1 set-up I had.
Jeffrey, the $200 was for everything. I started to look at the self powered computer speakers and was really not impressed with the sound. Klipsch has a pair w/sub for about $180 that sounded decent. Also, Klpisch came out with a new set that has 5 speakers and a sub for $300. Thanks for the help.
This design is meant to be set on a desk and is fully shielded, and can be built for under $100/pr. No amp though. Maybe you could pick up an old stereo receiver for $50 at a pawn shop.
2.1 for $200 is a hard price point to hit. Generally, amplifiers alone will take up more than 1/2 the budget, unless you have enough know-how to turn the amp modules at www.apexjr.com into functioning amps. And if shipping is part of the $200 budget, the fact that you'll probably be buying from different sources drives shipping above $20.
You might end up spending $250-$300, but you will have a very impressive computer speaker system.
If you want to use apexjr, there's a good amount of info on diyaudio.com for their amps. And you could also search the web for info. Most of those parts from Apex Jr have a design using them on the web.
I'll vote to get the Dayton 10". I'm happy with my pioneer, but 45Hz fs is not exactly a great low end!