Need Insert Advice

I'm shopping for a fireplace insert. I would appreciate any info I can get about your preferences and experience with inserts.I am contracting a very reputable company to do the work. I don't have any idea of the different brands and specs. What about a wood stove in the hearth? Don't know about that since the wife doesn't like the idea of an external pipe from stove to chimney. I'll be looking around but I thought this would be the best place to start as I value the opinion of experienced folks who frequent these forums. Here are a couple of pictures...

I love my VC merrimack for heat output, but hate the fan noise. It also cost a small fortune to purchase, so in retrospect I wish I bought a big freestanding stove, and took the remaining money to extend the hearth to accomodate it. Lesson learned.

You firebox seems to be very shallow. You might want to go with a hearth stove. You won't necessarily have to see the pipe too much from the stove to the chimney, the stove would hide most of it, I wouldn't let that scare you away from a hearth stove. The pipe could be black and you won't even notice it. One concern with a hearth stove is proper floor protection in front of the stove.

I also posted this thread on the Wood Shed forum and got more responses....you can see it there with dimensions and comments...thanks...