Arklin,

Kinetico makes very good water softeners but there are many that are
much cheaper. Sears has softeners on sale often. $600 for installation?
Thats pretty high for a simple plumbing job.
Get more quotes.
These are ion exchange devices. You'll be replacing the Calcium with
twice as much Sodium. Sodium is a lot more soluble but you'll still have
some crud build up where water dries.
I'm not sure how having a pool affects your problem but if your softener
only delivers 600 gal. and then needs to recharge, you'll be filling your
pool for a long time

Dave M.