need help with outdoor system

I was in precisely the same boat last year, so I'll share my experience.

Sonos is a great solution (I have 10 zones in my home), but it doesn't necessarily address your issue. Sonos doesn't make an outdoor product - I wish they did! You could install a zone player in a protected area near the tub and attach the outdoor speakers of your choice - if you have a suitable protected area with AC power near the hot tub.

Or, you could carry one of the integrated (built-in speakers) zone players out with you like a boom box. Either way, you run zone 2 of the AVR into a Sonos zone player or bridge and let Sonos relay the signal wirelessly to the outdoor Sonos unit. If you have a music library on a hard drive on your home wifi, you can control the selection of music from your iPad (via the Sonos app) as you desire.

Another solution is Soundcast - a portable wireless system made for outdoor use. This large speaker has much better bass than any integrated Sonos unit, but it isn't designed to live outdoors year round, so you gotta schlep it like a boom box.

I ended up building a box with AC outlet to house a Sonos Zone player and added a pair of Niles outdoor speakers. It's an expensive route because of the build/electrical requirements, but it is the most elegant solution I could find.

Good Luck.

Marty

If a speaker wiring run to outdoor speakers is available for your AVR, then IMHO Sonos becomes a good option. Set-up is straightforward:

You need a Sonos bridge (app 4" x 4" x 2" box) wired to your router. Run the Sonos set-up software to point the Sonos system to your music library. Plug a Sonos Connect (app 4" x 7" x 7" box) into your AVR as a new source. Select the Sonos Connect as your source for zone 2. Hard wire the outdoor speakers of your choice to the zone 2 output of your AVR. Control your music library via Sonos app on your iPad. You'll also get access to (and control over) Pandora, MOG, etc from the Sonos app on your iPad.

As a bonus, you get wireless access to your library anywhere you want by adding additional Sonos Zones (they make powered units both with, and without, integrated speakers) . Also, you'll have access on Zone 1 of your AVR (if you don't already have it there).

The Sonos hardware is +/- $450 and outdoor speakers are available at all price levels, so there's a fair bit of price flexibility in this approach, too.

Good luck.

Marty