Ok, well here is the thing and I will compare it to this way... so that it makes sense...
The three models I am going to compare are high end "hotspring" = Envoy "marquis" = Epic and the "artic" = frontier legend extreme.
I have wet tested the Epic so far and will be wet testing the other two this weekend, and honestly that will be the most important factor when making the final decision.
But inherent diffrences that come out quickly.
for me and my girlfriend the lounge seater is all important. Why because we want to lounge and get therepy. Right off the bat the Epic from Marquis was great because it had calf and thigh jets... HOWEVER, and a HUGE however, was that they don't all come on at once... I know it doesn't seem a big deal at first but it was annoying to me... the regular seaters were a good mix but it was like this big ole lounger didn't have any power behind it. And the neck massagers on the epic where innovative too, I guess meaning the other two won't be having them. But, alas they just weren't that powerful enough to notice they were really there. And I wish they were a pulsing shot not just a straight shot of continuous water...
So, again, the lounger on the Epic wasn't that great overall AND the diffreential of the jets wasn't immpressive... I mean if you have 4 or 5 people in the spa it won't be that much fun because the jets really don't run all at once in enough areas IMHO. To marquee another motor would fix this problem and the diffrentials and make this thing a runnaway purchase....
Oh and lastly I didn't like the siding at all... It isn't composite wood nor real wood but rather a thin looking vinal siding, and NO built in pillows...
which leads me to the ENVOY by Hotspring. right off the bat they don't have calf or thigh jets at all... but from the marquis experience I really don't think it will make much difference because you can't get them all on at once anyway, meaning, hey, I could just change my seating. But the dual Motomassage should be great and I say that because we tested a lower model but not the Envoy and I liked it, why? because it gave a soothing and relaxing feeling of an ever changing position jet. They might be hercules powerfull but the motion goes a long way IMHO. the composite wood siding looks better then Epics and the lesser amount of jets should be a good thing because that in all accounts should mean they are a bit stronger. Again, won't know till I wet test it this weekend.
Now, on to the Ever so hyped ARTIC Frontier Luxury Extreme. Now, I have to say I am choosing the "luxury Extreme" for the test because I some very serious considerations and purpose for the extra jets. For one, it has a whole extra motor... but what one thing was wierd is that he said the spa was 270 GPM which seemed to be on the low end for such a strong and numbersome motor system. perhaps he didn't have the proper stats for the extreme edition as opposed to the regular 2 motor edition. I will dig further when I wet test. Another plus is that this has an airrattor, or whatever it is called, you know the champagne bubbly thing that airs through spa. This to me is a cool feature and is more of a relaxing thing than a therapy thing IMO... worth having? YES IMHO... Again, I haven't wet tested but the sell's person said that all the jets work as opposed to certain areas on the lounger... I hope this is true and I will be waiting for it, big plus to me if it does. Lastly, the wood outter cover is beutiful to me and I dont' mind sealing it ever so often... We just built a buetiful deck and this will go oh so nicely rather than the silly fake wood... Composite would be good too but the natural to me looks better... Again, not options on the other two. Lastly, and A negative right off the bat for my girlfriend and I are the tub color choices seem eehhhe ahhhhh... blahhhh not so nice but perhaps it will look differnt once we are there... We will try to see the pricing and where they will take it but when we are done wet testing I will come back to the post and let you guys and gals now truly how everything went....
;D 