That's ridiculous. Spokes are cold formed wires, nothing more. Sure, a crappy spoke may break at the J-bend under extreme circumstances, but assuming they're tensioned right, a "bad" spoke does not equate to a bad wheel.
If you read books on wheel building like "The Bicycle Wheel" by "Jobst Brandt" or take a wheelbuilding class, out of all three components (the hubs, rims, and spokes), the spokes are the most important. Cheap spokes do not hold tension as well and are prone to rust. Will bend easily, etc. As long as you go stainless steel, you should be okay. they are even better than the light carbon fiber ones since they wont break as easily.
Also, according to Sheldon Brown (
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html)
"Cheap wheels are built with chrome-plated ("UCP")or zinc-plated ("galvanized") carbon-steel spokes, which are not as strong, and are prone to rust."
He also has a good piece on the difference between spoke counts. The weights arent a big difference between spoke counts. lower spoke counts require heavier rims, so the weight savings is nominal.