Transducers or speakers

[Mendocino101]

Yes 100watt will work but be sure to get a real 100 watt of RMS power ....I can help you if you need it....

[Bonibelle]

Yes, Please Help me. The sales guy at C.C. told my husband that the brand that he picked is truely 100W per speaker and that Sony is never what it says. Is that what you are talking about?  He is heading out in about 1 hour to get the receiver. What exactly is RMS power?

[Mendocino101]

What you want to look for is 100 watts of RMS power at less than 1% THD ....(total harmonic distortion )...I can get you amp that is 125 rms power with a small mixer  ...If you need it it would be 329.00 plus the shipping. it is a good value. Let me know if that helps you. OH if you do not have a cd player I can get you one for $39.00....

[salesdvl]

Unless they have made some kind of change in the last 6 months otherwise I dont think the SpaAudio sounds good at all.  And I agree with Term, it is not easy to use.  I remember our display would go into "sleep" mode on a reg basis.

[stl-rex]

I wasn't impressed with the transducer sound from HS or Arctic.  I thought it sounded garbled when the jets were on.  For built in, Sundance sounded the best to me.  We went with exterior speakers for cost.  They run to the receiver in the HT area in the basement.  We have no one behind us so volume isn't a big issue.  Klipsch AW-525's sound great and will play quite loud without distorting.  But I also have a Marantz receiver that puts out clean power.  Universal remote in a baggie and an IR extender and I can run receiver/cd/dig cable box from the tub.

[Bonibelle]

Thanks to the info from Mendocino, my husband picked up a receiver that can drive the speakers in my Epic. The sound is awsome, my whole deck is rocking! This is just what we expected   I don't know if the Soundsations system in the Epic is unique but honestly,  it was worth every penny!

[Bonibelle]

Oh my gosh...We just put in an old Phil Collins Album,
If any of you remember the awsome drum segment in
In The Air Tonight....well the Epic has just raised it to a new level.  

[blizzard]

Bonibelle did you put a new stereo or just an amplifier in you epic? How old is the Epic? Does it have speakers or transducers in it?

[Bonibelle]

Blizzard, You will have to wait for Mendocino or one of the other Marquis people to tell you exactly what the set up is. I just know there are speakers in the tub shell.
Our stereo was older and apparently the system requires 100 Watts per channel to drive the speakers. My husband picked up a new receiver and all that I can say is that it sounds awsome! Look carefully though, it is not cheap and others on here may be able to tell you
other ways to bring the music to your tubbing experiece. My husband insisted on the sound system and we had to wait for our tub because of it. I can honestly say now, it was well worth it.

[BearBath]

I have a new HS Grandee with the SpAudio. In contrast to others, I'm not impressed. The CD player (a Memorex) that comes with it is of fairly low quality. I have tried an Ipod, but the output level does not seem high enough to drive the speakers. Using either the Ipod or the CD player, you have to play the unit at the highest volume to get any sound at all, particularly with the jets running. This causes constant clipping.
Note that with the SpAudio, you are limitted to just changing volume from inside the hot tub at the secondary panel, and there is no indicator that you are correctly on the setting that affects volume. You just hit the buttons and hope that you got the right combination to make it work!
You have to turn the cd player on from outside, and adjust its output and pick songs. Then it gets shut up in a very flimsy case. Given how expensive this option was, it is disappointing. I also would fault the comments that the sound quality is clear. Many of the high frequencies are absorbed/muffled by the water. I played REM's Monster last night and it was almost unrecognizable.
Just my take on it. I have some doubts that my system is working correctly, since it is so awful. But given my experience, i would not recommend it.
BearBath

[blizzard]

It sounds like the epic just has transducers or speakers in it and you have to hook your own stereo up to it. If that is the case how is the stereo hooked up? Is it through wires or something else? Looking at their web site they even mention a water proof remote. If anybody knows more about the system please inform, because I would like to know what all you get and about how much it will cost. Thanks

[In_Too_Long]

the transducers on the SpAudio give a great sound if installed correctly. orginally on my Grandee I installed them incorrectly and i was dissappointed, but i went back in and correctly my problem after speaking with tech support.
Now i have a Beachcomber 750 with the Aquacustics with 4 transducers installed at the factory and the sound beats my speakers that i had installed outside 7 years ago.
By far if you love your music in the hot tub the only way to go is transducers.

[Mendocino101]

With the Epic it comes with a 100ft of speaker wire that you can run off of your home stereo or perhaps a unit you keep in a shed or a garage it needs to be at least 100 watts of clean RMS power...NO NOT buy into some portable unit that claims 300 watts or something like that...find a good 2 channel unit it is much better for this than an AV receiver....the speaker wire it comes with can be buried in the ground or if you are planning a head run some conduit ..as Bonibelle can attest it is very nice system when hooked up properly... if under powered it is not worth the time...it is also fairly reasonable priced compared to many of the other makers or so it seems to me....

[salesdvl]

I have a new HS Grandee with the SpAudio. In contrast to others, I'm not impressed. The CD player (a Memorex) that comes with it is of fairly low quality. I have tried an Ipod, but the output level does not seem high enough to drive the speakers. Using either the Ipod or the CD player, you have to play the unit at the highest volume to get any sound at all, particularly with the jets running. This causes constant clipping.
Note that with the SpAudio, you are limitted to just changing volume from inside the hot tub at the secondary panel, and there is no indicator that you are correctly on the setting that affects volume. You just hit the buttons and hope that you got the right combination to make it work!
You have to turn the cd player on from outside, and adjust its output and pick songs. Then it gets shut up in a very flimsy case. Given how expensive this option was, it is disappointing. I also would fault the comments that the sound quality is clear. Many of the high frequencies are absorbed/muffled by the water. I played REM's Monster last night and it was almost unrecognizable.
Just my take on it. I have some doubts that my system is working correctly, since it is so awful. But given my experience, i would not recommend it.
BearBath

I agree.  Someone stole the cd player out of our display model once and I had to go to Best Buy and get a new walkman.  I didnt realize that Best Buy sold "Made for a Lifetime of Relaxation" sound systems, but for $20 we were back in business.  The other problem we had was that playing cds burns thru batteries.  Instead of being a system that uses the power from the spa, it is dependant on batteries (unless you rig in an adapter).  

[Spatech_tuo]

but i went back in and correctly my problem after speaking with tech support.

If in doubt, call the manufacturer.