I find JBL still makes a good product no matter where in the line you buy, they offer a fair value for money.
Infinity, in their higher end (once you get away from retail) is a nice product, as is Polk in the higher end.
As far as retail offerings, big box products, I'd run screaming from anything Polk offers at that "affordale" level and be very careful about Infinity, though they still offer some good, common, retail products.
In the end, it all comes down to YOUR ears, and nobody's opinion counts.
It's like being a cheap drunk, if you can have a great time and party after 2 beers, all the power to you. Others need more to get such satisfaction and only tease those who do not.
If a $200.00 pair of speakers sound good to you, again that's to YOUR benefit. No matter what anyone else says or recommends, including myself of course, sound needs to be appreciated by the listener, not the press or reviewers. I have a friend who knows I offer some of teh est speakers around, and the factory direct pricing I can offer him is simply unbeatable anywhere in teh industry. However, he has a $250.00 theatre in a box system that he knows isn't the greatest but it sounds good enough in HIS room for HIS ears and really, that's all that counts. The fact that I have to spend thousands to be equally satisfied is my issue, not his.
"If music be the food of love...play on" W.Shakespeare