Nalod

30% should be vodka!!!!!!!! You guys got me good!

THe speakers that make sound that makes one happy is a good one!!!!! So many brands its hard to list them all!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV2sSF1Pxe8 Good idea but the execution might be suspect. Im sure they are selling a lot of those tubs! Maybe someone will take the innovations and do it right.

The big ones do! I had a grandee model with the 5. Lots of fun to clean and replace them. With the new ceramic filters it was not cheap! But a great tub!

I bought an inline pump that fits beween garden hose. Just a table spoon of cooking oil to lube it until water hits it. About 6 feet of hose for the intake then the 100 feet down to the natural area where the trees and english Ivy can have at it. I can also attach it to the drain and let it suck it out faster than gravity would. Or both! I have to drain the last bits out any way to get the soapy stuff out. I also like to flush about 10 gal with clean water at the end to get any jet cleaner out.

But the real fun is trying! Close proximity to the tub is the solution. A small pop us speaker attaced to a boat stereo costing $1500 or a high quality speaker 12' further mounted on a post in a big planter with an evergreen in it. If one is creative you can save a ton of money. A small glass of red wine, some tasty snack and Pat Metheny on the speakers is pretty mellow!

I wanted to do a Voyager system with the outdoor Subwoofer mounted below the deck or better yet the hot tub on my old house a few years back. Then I thought I might be over doing it. We have since moved and in the process of redoing our patio/porch and subseqent spa space. I think the speakers from JBL, Polk, and Pardigm are all superior choices as they great speaker companies. Outdoor speakers perhaps need not be of audiophile quality when you have a hot tub running. How one mounts them such as distance in height, distance apart, on a brick vs under a wooden eave, vs on a pole on a deck, vs on a fence all will change the dynamics of even the same speaker. Naturally quality of amplification is important. My Screened in patio is a tongue and grove bead board ceiling partially vaulted. I chose not to put "in ceiling mounts" because I did not want cut outs in the ceiling. IN Ceilings would have been a nice clean instalation but it in a room 20 x17 outside it would require about 6-8 speakers ( to get my accomplished result). Besides I have 2 pair of 251's already not being used with almost $700 spent! They are set on 300 watt indvidual volume switches and provide a natural quality at low volumes. Good sound in restaurants used many speakers to get the proper coverage without overpowering conversation. Bose provides a solid construction and bass sound in this product model. The 151's are nice but don't go as low. The 5 inch woofer in the 251's is not even visable when the grill is off as they have it hidden using the wave type process to replicate that larger sound. Bose trickery is nice in some of its products and this one works great in this application. One might say JBL, Polk, etc are better companies, and inside I would agree but outside that superior componentry is lost a bit on the environment its put into. Inside I have a Miller and Kressel (M&K Sound) and would never use a near field type system in a large room, let alone outside. Companies that sell speakers want to sell more speakers and many who desire fine quality inside would naturally gravitate to them for outdoor applications. And those whom purchase them are happy with the product so its all good!!!! LIke I said, I would not use bose home theatre products. I think a quality sound for a hot tub would be to have four speakers at listening (or near) in the corners so the volume is lower (neighbor friendly) and fewer hotspots (when two treble sources collide the ears don't like it). Few tub installations can even get two this way! I am limited to two and would have put them at ear level except I think gettin in an out of the tub we might bang our heads. Boston Accustics are going in the tub area. The trick is to get quality and acceptable volume without it being broadcast thru the neighborhood. Naturally a set of waterproof headphones with a protected source is ideal but us humans naturally feel a bit volnerable when enclosed in water and closing off our ambient environment only adds to that anxiety. Of course, some want to get in the tub with a fat stogie, a few wine coolers and blast Aerosmith thru the neigborhood, while others want armotheropy candles waffing good smells while meditating to John Tesh while freebasing xanex! I used the Bose in the patio also because they use two tweeters angled away so to crate a more open sound field. In no way are bose tweeters great audiophile quality but they are very condusive to what I am trying to accomplish. I would not use a bose speaker for a dedicated hot tub area because that tweeter array is going to broadcast over a much wider listening area. In this application you want a very narrow speaker character which usually goes against what out door speakers are trying to do. But some will do it better (worse) than others. So in short, my applications are use bose speakers for largel areas or multiple pairs for greater saturation in lower volume, or in a near field situation one of the more traditional speakers with a good mid range character. Too bright and its annoying and too muddy you won't hear it over the tub. All the recomendations are correct as they are all subjective to what your ears like and the level of obsession you wish to involve yourself into. The portable easy solution is a very good one also!

My tub is also going under a patio in a walkout area off a basement. What I did was make sure the tub is as close to the edge so its not tucked far underneath and you can look up. Also I had my ceiling finished with inexpensive but washable white vinyl material with (to code) recessed lighting. The lights need a set distance from the tub. I am putting a plastic shower type lens on mine in addition. THere are some easy under deck products to put as a ceiling and keep water from dripping. With the paving if done up to the house it should be cleaner with less bugs. I don't know what part of the country your and if screening is really necessary. I am considering it but I can use a fan to keep buggs moving if it gets bad only in the summer months. With a solid patio base, and perhaps a finished ceiling where spiders can't do thier thing you could very well have a less buggy area. It will also keep it drier!!! Spray the corners to keep them bugs at bay too! A finished lower patio will also increase the value and look of the back yard. Make sure you can get in and hose/sweep around the tub. With plants, maybe some outdoor mirror type hangings the area won't be so gloomy. I wired some outdoor speakers on the posts. You may want to paint the posts and perhaps do a bit of landscaping to soften the area. All low cost tings to really make that space nice. Its a nice space and you'll have good use for it now.

We are becoming very very nervous about mold. Mold has been around since the day we were born and some molds are not gonna hurt you. Its the airborne ones that will kick you ass. You have warm water around pourous serfaces its gonn happen from time to time. Keep a bottle of 20% bleach and 50% water in a spray bottle and use it from time to time to spot clean the tub anyway. You can use it on pillows and around the controls with a soft brush. Spray on weird looking things and let it sit and scrub with brush and it should come right off. If the tub is not making you sick then its all ok. Covers have lots of grainy surfaces that things can get into. Tub chlorine levels bounce and we are not perfect in how we stay on top of the levels so maybe you had somthing start that usually does not happen.

I hate bose!!!!!! Won't put a theatre system of thiers in my house at all!!!! OVerpriced and over rated! THey make things simple, which is not entirely a bad thing. But, as a consumer product company for the smaller products they make they do a nice job. I have a 2.1 bose system at my work computer and it does a nice job. The headphones they make also sound very good. I have 2 sets of the 251's and I they are wonderful! They are full range speakers and the bass response for an outdoor speaker is very good. So good I was inspired to change my main system a few years ago. I also have some Boston acoustics set up just for the hot tub. The Bose prices are usually fixed to within 10% so getting a "deal" on them are tough. The more they are proteced from the elements the longer they will last. There are some nice "rock" speakers that can be placed on the ground or those in flower pots for the outdoors. Bose and others also have in ground systems. Outdoor speakers set up is a bit trickey as sound carries and you can be suprised how far it travels to your neighbors yard. Thats why the more speakers you have the less volume you need. Think of a central air conditioning vs a monster window unit. The more outlets you have the more coverate you have. Thats why at theme parks they have those cool in ground speakers all over the place. You hear the music but don't really know where it comes from. How high you put them, mounted on wood or brick, or under an over hang or wide open all have an effect on the sound. Most important is what you think of them and how much you want to spend. Some are bright sounding while others are "warm". There is no right or wrong. JBL, Bose, Niles, Boston Accoustics, are all good. Yamaha is a big name but not a known for its speakers. They are likely a good value. Try www.outdoorspeakerstore.com/ Wireless are convienent but the technology is not there yet. But it gets the music to where you want and thats all that matters!!!!

Really perfectly logical, if mostly solo then get the lounger. Half the fun of a big tub is swimming around and getting all the messages.

Thank you for getting me! Maybe matt can do a Spa Cam thing with a power meter so we can moniter the life of it. Kind of like "The Truman SHow"! We can watch for leaks and issues. As a newbie Im really into the story of "SPA WARS"! Is companies like HS and Sundance the "Empire"? Is Matt CP30?

I had a Grandee for 4 years and sold it with the house. I was ready to buy an Envoy but really did not like the seating angles, but its a fine tub and hot springs is great. I intially liked the sundance tub back then but did not like the dealer and was sold on HOtSprings wonderful build quality. That Dealer is gone, and the one that has hotsprings also has sundance and this time we went to that and tested both. The Sundance with its bubbles and jet placement just felt better. I did not want as big a tub this time. I was also considering the Sovereign. Nice tub. Figure if your gonna spend 7k why not 8500 and get what you really want. If your sold on HS, and you can't go wrong there, then just wet test both and you'll figure it out. Logic is one thing and build quality is a priority but after than its how you feel.

I must take even more time to rant and correct my reckless spelling ways. Or is it more funny to spell it in an improper manner? Im new here but his last attempt in Costco justification was his own undoing. While Im sure there are some here that sell many brands and are threatened by Costcos lower pricing structure the core engagement is "dealer support" and without it does it justify the savings? I doubt in 4 months nobody will have "the last laugh". I can appreciate buying a tub at costco and taking a risk it works out. For the little he paid it really just might. He has a lot of repair cost room for it to equate. And if he don't mind the hassle of it, then its a great deal! Matt's post was freaking funny. The dude is regal!

I too had the hot springs ceramic filters. 5 for my Grandee! Bought ten cuz I just figured its easy to clean all at once then have available. I sprayed and soaked, then put on a broom stick and hit it with a hose and let it spin. Then tried my power wash on it and it spun so fast and the weight of the water in it the thing actually blew apart!!!!!! I tried the diswasher but found it really did not clean well enough and the cleaner (glorified Kaboom) will bubble up so the hose if really the only way to go. The ceramic filters are scrubable with a soft brush.