Hello,
I could really use some help selecting a water softener system. I've read quite a few posts by Aliceinwonderland and others and I appreciate the time they take to answer questions.

So alice, I hope you can offer your expertise. I'm very much a novice at this but figure this is the best time to do this as we are in the middle of a bathroom/kitchen renovation and are just starting to have our entire 30 year old house repiped due to a recently discovered under slab leak.
I'm proposing to our plumber that we want a line off the main that supplies unsoftened cold water to our kitchen sink, fridge/icemaker and outdoor faucets. We will put in an undercounter system to filter the tap water for drinking/cooking.
The softened water would then only be used in the water heater, clothes washer, bathrooms and kitchen hot water. I think this is a good compromise and helps us keep down sodium content in drinking and plant water.

Number of people in your home: 2-3 (son is home from college from June-Aug
Any plans to change the number in your home within the next couple of years?: No
Number of bathrooms: 2
Any high-water-use items, such as a multi-head shower or jetted tub?: No
Objectionable odors or color in your water?: None

Link to City Water Report (we are serviced by Miramar)http://www.sandiego.gov/water/pdf/quality/2011/waterqual11.pdf

I've found several online retailers and have priced out a 5600SXT 32,000 with the 18"x33" brine tank. I haven't contacted any vendors yet to see if they offer the specific items that you mention like the 10% cross linked resin, etc.
At this point my priority is to have the plumber do the piping needed for the water softener so we have it ready for when we do buy the system. I'm not sure what to ask him for except to tell him where we'll locate the system in the garage and that we want a bypass valve incase we need to take the softener off-line.

Thank you for your time reading this post and I look forward to your expert advice.