You might look into the used marketplace or even ebay...If you know what kind of speakers you like....especially having listening to them in a demo situation..then you might get a good deal. I prefer powered monitors that are flat vs non-powered. But there are very good non-powered ones that are high end. Even the discontinued Yamaha NS-10's are not powered and will need a amp to run.
i'm using a pair of "KRK Rokit Powered 5 Generation 2" very good self powered monitor speakers... got them from guitar center. about 149.00 each or $250 a pair?