MBAS, feel no need to tenderfoot around me. Exhaust is one of the few things where there is NO wrong answer - everyone has a tone or decibel level that suits him/her.
Based simply off of what you just said in your second post (which I didnt consider in my first post), I can tell that you and I have different thresholds for what sounds just right (as I get older, I cant handle loud exhaust as much. I will say that my first car ran 4-2's and right out true sidepipes. It was LOUD. You know what? I loved it!).
I can really only offer experience and the notation that you know I have a toned-down preference from what you like.
The '94 runs shorties, a catted aftermarket H-pipe and a Flowpath cat-back. Honestly, in a coupe, I consider it marginal. There is a roar at any RPM over about 1800 that permeates the interior and could get tiresome during a long drive. So that is my definition of loud. You would laugh in my face if I told you that while the car idled, I'm sure.
That said, even two chambers in a vert is not loud at all, to me. Coupe vs vert = huge difference in what I like (I like verts louder).
You might be one who likes something like turbo tubes. I have NOT heard them in person though. In my day, we used glass packs, but there has got to be something better these days (though they are cheap if you wanna try some). I thought turbo tubes might be along the glasspack line, but better. Others can say.
Have you hit Chris's (Donjohn's) exhaust site? I have not been, but have heard really good things about it.
I, like you, could never afford to change exhaust systems like underwear, so I have not tried nearly as many as I would have liked. Others will be able to help you. And now that we see that you already have tried running with just an O/R and liked it, that does really help.
You just want to clear up the resonation of misfires and backfires, etc. Let's see what the wise folks say.
Good luck.