@jpatterson007,
You need the chlorine out of the water, none of the two systems gets that out. Hague WaterMax is the only true water conditioning system that will soften and get the chlorine out as well as other things you do not want in your water. You need an RO if you want purified water. The filter on your fridge only rids of chlorine smell and taste but does not rid of the chlorine and it is costly to replace every6 months. Hague has the only RO that is 1-1 ratio of water waste all others are 3-1 and high as 15-1. That will cost you and it's not water conservative. The water we drink is not as safe as it once was 25-50 years ago. That is why you need purified water to rid of everything harmful in the water, up to 99.9%. Having both WaterMax and RO is ideal. I would contact a Hague dealer in your area and they will not hard pressure you, only educate you and they guarantee you will not find a better system out there for the price. What I like about Hague is they are family own and operated, USA made products, nothing is sent or bought offshore and they have the strongest warranty, 25 years. Don't be fooled by the lifetime warranties promised, it is not your lifetime but the lifetime expectancy of the appliance and in California, where I am from, that is only 7 years. Hope this helps