Wet Test Recap Thus Far

[spanewbe]

Another wet test today -- Sundance Optima.  Previous wet tests include J-355, HS Grandee and Marquis Euphoria.  The final wet test we would like to do is the J-385.  We tried today but none of the Jacuzzi Premium dealers in town currently have a J-385 on their floor due to end of year closeout sales.  We are told the stores will be receiving replacement models shortly so we should be able to wet test the J-385 soon.  Of the tubs tested thus far we are strongly leaning toward the Marquis.

We were expecting the The Optima wet test today give us second thoughts about our leanings toward the Euphoria, but neither of us could find a seat that we really liked in the Optima.  I am 6' 2" and felt like my knees were in my chest when I had my feet on the foot dome jets from any of the corner seats.  I also did not like the contour of the shoulder and headrest area.  I felt pinched if I sat at all upright or like I had no place to put my feet if I slouched a bit due to the foot dome placement.  We also really had a dislike for the sound the diverters made when in certain positions.  The clunking and gurgling made the tub sound cheap. Although we know the spa is well made from reading this board, the sound was an unwelcome distraction.  Based on how we were planning on locating the spa, I also prefer an ABS pan vs. what seemed like a wood frame base on the Optima.  The exposed screw heads on the cabinet were also a turnoff for me.  Having said all this, we can see why the Optima has a strong following, especially among those that value jet power and massage variety more than my wife and I.  I hope no one thinks we are bashing the Optima, it just is not the right fit for us for the reasons listed.

The wet tests (and reading this board) have really helped us sort out which aspects of the spa experience we consider of the highest priority.  I don't think there is any way we could make a good selection without the wet tests.

We will keep the board posted of our J-385 wet test results and likely have some questions on fair prices we should expect to pay for either a J-385 or Euphoria. (The Optima dealer quoted us at $8250 for an 04.)  We also welcome any compare/contrast comments from any that has tested and/or owned the Euphoria and J-385.  Thanks again to the board.

[nm-tn]

>Previous wet tests include J-355, HS Grandee and Marquis Euphoria<

Bring me up to date as to your option on the other wet test you did. I'm looking at the same as you but adding the J-365 and J-375.

[spanewbe]

<<Bring me up to date as to your option on the other wet test you did. I'm looking at the same as you but adding the J-365 and J-375. >>

Here is our review of the Euphoria from an earlier post.  We did not post a review of the Grandee because we liked the Euphoria much better.   We have also not posted a review of Jacuzzi Premium yet because we are waiting to wet test the J-385.  We liked the J-355 wet test  enough to make sure we wet test the J-385 before making any purchase.

<<I started another thread seeking purchase help from this board after we wet tested the Grandee and J-355 (J-385 was not full).  We were advised to look at the Euphoria and a few others.  Well, we just wet tested the Euphoria today and were mightily impressed.  My wife and I loved the following:  we each had a seperate deep corner seat that fit us well, then we could simultaneously each move to a cool down seat with jets where each cool down seat allowed us to rest our arms comfortably out of the water on the spas' shell (more skin comfortably out of the water), remaining seats were all comfortable and nicely jetted vs. too upright or design afterthoughts,  tri-zone optionality, good jet power, overall quietness of tub in virtually any mode that does not have the neck level jets going full bore, spa frog seems to simplify water maint, solid warranty and overall look of tub.    The only negatives we could come up with were: 1)  the lack of a good foot massage station for my wife.  The foot massage jets under the filters are too far away from the opposite seat for my wife.  The distance is perfect for me, but I don't care about foot massage -- I am focused on back therapy, 2) filter system has only 60 sq. ft of filter area vs. as much as 325 on the Grandee (not sure I know enough to claim this to be an informed criticism), and 3) dealer is an hour's drive away (not the dealer's fault, of course).  We did not miss the padded pillows and liked the no maint. aspect of the formed headrests.

A few questions for the Marquis experts out there:

If we buy a Euphoria, is the any difference between a standard Euphoria and the SA Euphoria?  and any reason we should target one vs. the other? (Based upon the pictures on Marquis' web site, I believe we wet tested the standard model -- forgot to confirm in the store).

Any reason to have any concerns about the filtration system square footage or any other aspect of the cleaning system?

What would be a fair price for a standard or SA (any difference?) including the usual items such a delivery, cover, lifter, steps (what else is normally included?)?  How much of price difference should we be offered to accept an 04 vs. waiting for an 05, which we have no problem doing since we are under no pressure to buy on any particular timeline?  The thread about the 05 Marquis upgrades seemed to include a few useful items, especially the maintenance interval alerts (water change, filter clean, etc.) and the floating remote.

We still intend to wet test the Sundance Optima, but we are pretty excited about the idea of a Euphoria at this point. >>