Ended up buying a DefTech W7. Found it on the Open Box table at my local Best Buy for the same $99 price as from Newegg and Amazon. Yeah, it was open box and a bit used, but in perfect condition, with full warranty and a 15-day return policy.
Connected it via a Toslink cable out of my PC. This sounded a bit clearer to me than the 3.5mm analog cable. The sound quality is decent, very clear with reasonable mid-bass warmth. No deep bass (4" woofer) and limited on how loud it can get. Obviously no stereo imaging as it is just one box but the highs have some spaciousness to them, with tweeters firing out of the front and the sides. This thing has 5 digital amps in it, a 30W for the woofer and 4 15W amps - one for each tweeter.
I didn't need high fidelity as my PC is in the same room as a my main audio system, so all serious listening is done through it. But for gaming, a bit of YouTube, maybe some casual listening streaming radio, it is okay. I like its small size and clear vocals. It would make for a good sounding audio streamer from a cellphone.
The Paradigm PW600 and PW800 are definitely better but cost 150% to 220% more. I didn't have that great a need for the increased fidelity.
Overall quite pleased at the $99 price point.