live in apartment, what should i get?

i have a 42 inch panasonic and a bd30 blu ray player. the tv is right up against the wall of the next tenant. should i get something with or without a sub woofer? how loud is tru hd and would i really be able to enjoy it if i had to keep the volume at a low level?

The good thing to me about HD formats (I like LPCM) is that you can hear so much more than the standard 5.1 without blasting the volume. A subwoofer in an apatment, NAH. LFE's can be a disturbance to your fello neighbors.

[Post edited by tony1569 on Jan 13, 2008]

TrueHD is phenominal no matter what volume it's heard at.

Just like HD does with the picture, TrueHD offers audio at a higher resolution. You'll actually be able to enjoy it as much at low levels as well as cranked up on those days when nobody is around to bother.

thanks for your help. by the way, what does LFE stand for?

Low Frequency Effect, that the bass from your sub when you're watching a movie.

oh ok. thanks again.

j0hngalt,

How much money you want to spend? You could for an apartment get one of those "Home Theater in a Box" things, but I wouldn't. You have to consider that you may not be living in an apartment forever. It may be better from a quality and financial point of view to plan an upgrade path that will give you the best audio now. I'd forget any thoughts about a sub woofer for now, unless you enjoy visits from your local law enforcement branch. But by concentrating on decent front speakers (including center), you can set them to "large" and at least enjoy an acceptable dynamic range at low volume levels without shaking the building. Quality little book shelf surrounds (rear ones) are good enough for now. Put most of your money into a good receiver (it will cost more than your Blu-ray or HD DVD standalone) IMO. Don't be afraid of too many watts, that's what the volume control is for