Hi Chivas!
I'm no expert here...John (Bridgeman), JohnK...oh hell, everyone here knows more than I do.
What I have learned is that square rooms are problematic.... and small square rooms compound the issues. I don't think your room will fall under the small category. Hopefully others will chime in.
It's not that the 350 is a bad sub, I'm particularly looking for that "hit you in the chest" feeling and combining that desire with a problematic room. That being said, my gut feeling is to go with a 500 instead of a 350 for three reasons:
-- More and more, movies are making real use of that LFE (sub) track. I think a good sub is more important now than it was 5-10 years ago.
-- You can always turn down the 500 when your wife is watching... you can't turn a 350 up beyond it's capabilities.
-- She might end up appreciating the bass.
I don't mean to be too forward with that last one. I know some people that have hearing issues that have a problem with bass and that or any other reason could be legitimate. But... not knowing the situation and playing Devil's Advocate... Is it possible that she's saying she doesn't like bass because of the ear-splitting thumping she hears from the cars next to her at stop lights? I'm not trying to be facetious... but some people that say they don't like something have only been exposed to poor samples of it. If the bass is tight and well-controlled and just adds some "weight" to the presentation, and doesn't just go BOOM BOOM BOOM, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP she might actually enjoy it???
I would say if you can swing the extra $$ for the 500, go for it. You're assemblinfg a top-notch system there and more and more, proper LFE playback is a big part of that satisfaction.
