I not at all familiar with the Down East, and even though I have a Artesian Piper Glen on order I'm not very familiar with the Antigua either. So while I can't make a recommendation either way I do have a few things for you to think about given your post. You said that you both like the Down East after the wet test, I'd say thats a point for the DE. On the Artesian you mention, more jets, and a 24 hrs circulation pump. No points for either of those. You both like it, point earned there, and you especially like one of the seats and the lounger, another point there. The reason I'm not giving any point for the number of jets, is that this is definitely not some thing you should base your choice on. It has nothing to do with the quality of the message. A tub with fewer jets could actually give a better feeling message. You may see allot of debate on the 24 hr cic pump vs filtering with a more powerfull shorter running pump. In my opinion neither is a clear choice. The difference between a 24 hr pump and using one of the jet pumps, as long as both systems are well designed, is probably negligible. Both can be done well, both can be done poorly. One of the possible down sides to a lounger is that some people tend to float out of them. This is highly dependent on the person involved and on the tub itself. You may float in one tub and not another. Sounds like you have a pretty close race on your hands.
