Actually what he came up with on his own should be a nice setup. I can't really comment on exactly how it would sound since none of those are out yet. Ben has said the comps should sound similar to the CDT HDs (in fact they worked directly with CDT when they made these comp sets), but only time will tell. Other brands to look at for comps are Crystal, Diamond, CDT, Focal, JL, and Image Dynamics. For subs, the Alpine type-r is good for the money (ebay price, not retail), not the best, but they are good, Resonant Engineering, Adire, Diamond, Crystal, and ID are also good sub companies.
The amp selection should come after the speaker selection, but in the mean time check out Soundstream, DEI, Hifonics, JBL, Phoenix Gold, etc.
It's hard to build your first system since there are just SO many choices out there, especially for the price range that it appears you're looking in. I know how it is and I've been dealing with the same crap recently as I've been putting together my new system. Just take it slow and keep your mind open (it looks like you are already just by reading your post, which is good). Don't rush into it, it will take you weeks to come up with the system that will suit you best, I think I've been planning mine for the last 3 months or so
