Summary of the outdoor speaker setup (re-post)...
With my trusty dremel I cut a hole in the siding and drywall to run speaker wire outside to a pair of Boston Acoustics outdoor speakers. radio shack sold me an inexpensive wall plate with banana plugs for the wires (flat speaker wire) to give the installation a clean look. A little putty on the outside was pressed around the wires to keep air/moisture out. With a few clips from the hardware store I ran the wires to the speakers such that they are hardly noticable (see the speaker photo above).
The whole project only took a few hours and cost $300 including the speakers, wire and other accessories. What matters to me more then the cost savings is that this installation sounds great! With the receiver I can plug in my ipod and enjoy my favorite tunes. Also, I can watch TV/DVD through the window thanks to an articulating arm that allows the flat panel TV to swing towards either the hot tub or to the sauna inside the house.
To control the sound I bought a Dolphin waterproof remote control which really works great. It controls the receiver, TV, and DVD player while sitting in the hot tub. The unit cost about $120 but that's cheap compared to the $400+ quotes I got from the hot tub dealers I called. What I did was contact the sales department at Balboa (Dolphin remote manufacturer) by phone and they referred me to a regional distributor. All they needed was the part number and I purchased it right over the phone. Received it in the mail within the next week.
http://www.balboainstruments.com
