I have been reading alot of threads on which speaker is better and it is honestly only opinions at best. I think that it would be better if instead of everyone fighting about which speaker is better we could just describe some defining characteristics of each speaker and let me decide for myself.
Now to get down to business; I am looking at component speakers right around the $300 mark. Focal, Diamond, CDT, Image Dynamics, Rainbow, ect.
I have not heard any of these speakers personally and there isn't really anywhere I can go hear them all without driving all over the state to pick out the perfect pair.
For Focal, 130v2's are nice. Polyglass, 60 watts RMS, 120 watts max handling. 92 dB sensitivity. Focal speakers are my absolute favorite; they NEVER distort on me and are crystal clear even at VERY high volume levels.
Image Dynamics CXS52... 100W RMS, 200W peak, 88 dB sensitivity, 2 ohm impedence. Also a nice set of speakers, IMO.
Also think about CDT EF51CV's and maybe Diamond s500's, but i'm personally not a big Diamond fan.
I have 165s, those are the specs on the 130s. I'd recommend the 165v2s to you, but they're 6.5s. The 130v2s are 5.25s in your price range and i've heard them in a friends ride and they sound great, so I mentioned those.