I had a thread going a while back that said I was considering 2 Jacuzzi tubs (J-325 and J-460) vs. a Hot Springs Prodigy. Well, after dismissing the Jacuzzi's from the running, and getting the wife involved in the final wet test, we made the call for the Hot Springs...Sovereign!
Yep, the wife loved the lounger in the Sovereign so much she deicided she could loosen her restrictions on tub size a little to get us a slightly bigger tub for our small yard. So now we wait for the landscape contractor to get in gear and hopefully we'll be soaking in a couple months.
For anyone else's info, here was my rationale for HS over Jacuzzi. Solely based on my own experiences at the dealer, so take it for what it's worth:
--The J-460 was a dry tub, and despite me asking twice, the dealer was not willing to fill it for a wet test. That ruled that one out for me right there.
--The J-325 felt nice while soaking...I liked the jets, but...
---> the waterfall controls felt very cheaply made to me, like it could break at any moment, and the lever to control it is not easily accessible with the human hand. I do not have fat fingers but could hardly get to the switch.
---> while trying to adjust the direction of one of the jets, the plastic piece that I think re-directs the water flow popped off in my hand, and it was very tough to pop back on. I finally had to turn the jets off to get it back on, and even when it was back in place it felt like it could come off too easily.
---> i liked the water quality of the HS much better. I could really feel the chemicals on my skin well after the Jacuzzi soak, and experienced no such negative feeling after the HS. Of course, experience with my own water treating may vary, but we'll see.
Anyway, lots of very helpful people on this board helped us get to our decision, so thanks for all the assistance! We can't wait!
-sam