Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: hawkman on May 22, 2006, 10:02:35 am
-
Has anyone tried the Spaudio II from HS? Was thinking about getting it on the envoy.. what does it run in terms of cost? Are the 2 external speakers that come with it wireless?
Thanks
-
I've got one ordered for the showroom that should be in next week. I have heard it at the dealer conference and it was outstanding! The speakers are NOT wireless, though.
Terminator
-
I have it on a wet spa on the showroom. It sounds much better than the Spaudio (I) did. The part in the tub is about the same, the external speakers are fairly large, no-name Chinese items which suprised me by how good they sound.
In my opinion, the best sound comes when you put the speakers near the spa and use the Transducers ('internal' sound) to augment the bass. Now we're talking!
The CD/MP3 deck works like a champ: I can even get FM stations clearly, which was always a problem for me on the Caldera systems which use a similar deck.
The price is very likely to end up around $2000, but please keep in mind that the price is for a very complete package: the Deck, the four-channel digital amp, the internal Transducers and the External speakers PLUS the remote.
The remote is a big part of the new system because it is the only way you can control the EQ and Volume of the internal and external systems - which can be set up independantly of each other.
Also, you can plug into the Aux input of the deck and play your Ipod through the system.
The wires which lead to the external speakers are direct burial, about fourty feet long, and are easy to work with: they can be detatched from the speakers if longer or different wires need to be used.
-
Forgot to say: the remote also runs the whole spa, jets, temp, lighting, color changing, stereo, channel or track on the CD Deck, and you can keep it inside and use it to check/adjust the temp of the tub from the house.
-
With all due respect to good quality, but that has got to be one AWESOME sound system to go for that kind of money. I know the SD system will do all of that except check the temp inside the house and we would sheepishly ask half that amount with the remote. We must have been giving them away.
Again, with all due respect I am not a HS dealer and I don't know anything about their SpaAudio II, I have seen the SpaAudio I and it just seemed to be speakers with an auxilary jack. What is in the NEW SpaAudio?
-
What is in the NEW SpaAudio?
As I posted above, the Spaudio II includes the following:- Sony CD Deck. High end, water resistant. Plays MP3 disks.
- Four-channel Digital power amp - purpose-built, over 300 watts per ch.
- Two transducers.
- Two outdoor speakers
- direct-burial wire for above
- ETL listing for the whole system
- Waterproof remote control which also integrates control of the spa itself
- Installation
- The system is still the only one I know of which so completely integrates with the tub. If you want to run the outdoor speaker in another part of the yard, you may - and you can control them seperately from the rest of the tub.
I have heard the Sundance system. It sounds great - I mean really great. But the Spaudio II sounds every bit as good AND is integrated into the whole tub and the whole soaking experience.
If you want to install a tub AND a sound system for your yard, you sure can. But if you want to have sound in the water with you, outdoor speakers to put wherever you want, and complete integration with the tub (and no speakers in or on the tub) this is a good way to go.
-
I have heard the Sundance system. It sounds great - I mean really great. But the Spaudio II sounds every bit as good AND is integrated into the whole tub and the whole soaking experience.
So you know the Sundance remote DOES control the jets, blower, and lights.
How exactly are external speakers "integrated".
I would venture a guess that the amp on the new system is 300 TOTAL watts, not watts per channel.
That being said... I'm a big fan of transducers and I'm sure the system sounds great. But you're about $1000 high on the price.
-
so your saying this spaudio II is a 1200 watt system??
-
My boyfriend is definitely rubbing off on me- even I get agitated now when people focus on WATTS. Greater wattage does not mean better or even louder sound.
-
My boyfriend is definitely rubbing off on me- even I get agitated now when people focus on WATTS. Greater wattage does not mean better or even louder sound.
A company named Harmon Kardon is a good example. They have 85 watt home systems that are louder, power more speakers and sound better than other brands with 500 watts
-
there is so much more to sound than watts...first if you want something to play louder to gain 3 dB's of sound you must double the wattage for example 100 amp will play as loud as a 150 watt amp but it will not be as clean sounding to play louder you would need to have a 200 watt amp and the difference than would only be 3dbs.....but speaker efficiently is huge in sound some speakers sound great but are power hungry and require more watts to drive them.....the biggest thing that blows speakers and amps is over driving them where people continue to turn up the sound because the knob keeps turning but the unit has stopped putting out clean power....amp are much like motors and horse power you have a peak for both and than a continues use or RMS of power ratings and very few units of anything for a home is 300 RMS watts per channel and not a chance of being 1200.
-
no-name Chinese items which suprised me by how good they sound.
.
Did you say Chinese? At that price I'm surprised they used cheap components. ???
-
Did you say Chinese? At that price I'm surprised they used cheap components. ???
Well, I don't generally connect Chinese audio stuff with high end, but these do sound good. However, if you want, you certainly can use them for now and add just about any speaker you would like down the road. That's the beauty of having both the Transducers and external speakers.
-
I would venture a guess that the amp on the new system is 300 TOTAL watts, not watts per channel.
Have you seen the amp? The thing is huge and weighs a ton. Huge torroidal transformer. The new system is supposed to be as powerful as the old.
But I will call the mother ship and ask to be sure.
I know this: I was told 300 watts RMS per channel on the old system, and I sure replaced a lot of transducers for folks who simply turned the volume way up and fried the things.
-
Chas,
I am not saying it can't be 300 watts but that's a lot of rms power...I would assume it is a 2 channel (600 watt total) amp and at less than 1% THD....if it is above that than its not really 300 watts per channel. I would have to wonder or ask why all the blown Transducers...I mean the system you would think ...would match power and power handling capacity .....Marquis has some what of a similar system ...I am only speaking personally here but I am not a fan of any Spa system...I think this is because of back round of selling home/car audio and DJ equipment for 10 years. I just feel you can put together a total backyard system for less than what you will pay for one that is in a spa and that applies to just about any spa......but that just my personal feeling.
-
Here's an owner's perspective. I bought an '06 Grandee with SpAudio II a couple of months ago. I didn't even know about the new version when I ordered the tub, but that's what it came with. The dealer said I was their first installation of the new system.
The external speakers are black and fairly large, and come with angled mounting brackets that can make the speaker face whichever way you want. My tub is half under a second floor deck, and I had them mounted on the deck floor beams slightly behind the tub, pointed towards the center and about 7ft high. I'll be happy to take a picture if anyone wants to see what that looks like. The installers did a very good job burying the cables and bringing them up to the speakers through pillars so that they're hardly noticeable. There are no markings on the speakers indicating brand.
The CD player is a sony marine grade stereo, seems fairly high-end, can play MP3-encoded CDs and is XM satellite-ready - which I take to mean that you can add an XM module which you can then control through the stereo's head end. The unit is mounted at the front-left corner of the tub, and pops out by pushing the cover door in, just enough to reveal the face of the stereo. It looks solid and well-integrated. The face of the unit comes off, and I tend to take it off when I'm not at the house for more than a day as a security measure, since the stereo door doesn't lock.
The internal speakers do a pretty good job filling the spa with sound, and if you pay attention you can locate where the sound comes from, but there's no "bad" spots in the hot tub where one speaker overwhelms the other. I usually keep just the internal speakers on when I don't want to disturb the neighbors, and the sound remains fairly localized with moderate volumes so that I'm comfortable playing the stereo with just internal speakers even late at night. The bass is booming and well defined, but the high frequencies are muffled. You really can feel the sound vibrating on your body.
The external speakers sound surprisingly good, and are much louder than the internal ones. To keep them balanced, I usually set the internal volume to 8-12 and the external volume to 2-4. They add a lot to the sound clarity, especially at high frequencies. As mentioned before, the equalization as well as the volume can be set independently for the external and internal speakers (there are 5 preset eq settings for each).
The dealer did not charge me extra for the II than what they originally wrote on the invoice for Spaudio I, which was $1625. To be honest, knowing what I know now (and I hadn't listened to either SpAudio before ordering), I would have been disappointed with SpAudio I, but love the II. The external speakers are a very good addition, and make the price of the system more palatable.
This is my first post here and the Grandee is my first tub, which I'm enjoying immensely! I'll be glad to provide any additional information.
-
Here's an owner's perspective. I'll be glad to provide any additional information.
Great post. Thanks, and welcome to spatopia. May you soak long and prosper.
8)
-
Here's an owner's perspective. I bought an '06 Grandee with SpAudio II a couple of months ago. I didn't even know about the new version when I ordered the tub, but that's what it came with. The dealer said I was their first installation of the new system.
The external speakers are black and fairly large, and come with angled mounting brackets that can make the speaker face whichever way you want. My tub is half under a second floor deck, and I had them mounted on the deck floor beams slightly behind the tub, pointed towards the center and about 7ft high. I'll be happy to take a picture if anyone wants to see what that looks like.
It sounds like you've got a nice setup so please do post pictures.
-
Mendo -
Yes, you certainly can put together a system for less. But this system is for folks who don't want to have to do that. This system is also for folks who want the music right in the water with them, and who want the system to be integrated into the spa. By that I mean the remote runs both spa and music, ETL has certified the whole system, all gounding/safety issues have been factored in, the system is built right into the cabinet with the obvious exception of the external speakers of course.
As to wattage: I just got off the phone with the tech support guys. They said that we will be putting the Spaudio II amps in as replacements after they use up the I - talking about warranty work here - so the two primary channels are going to the be same and the external channels have a switch to disable them. I was transfered next to engineering department: voice mail. I am going to send an email and I'll post the response.
-
Chas,
Please note I was not suggesting it is not a good system....but for several reasons I am not a fan of a system in a spa.. As I mentioned before my personal feelings about them...I was only drawn into the discussion because of the mentioning of how many watts are in the system and based on my experience 300 watts per channel x 2 or someone even mentioned x4 is a lot of power and something I would be really surprised to find accurate ....I think the remote and the ability to control both the spa and sound is something many manufacturers offer.
-
We're cool.
;D