Hey all,

I'm putting together a 5.0 or 5.1 setup for the apartment I'm about to move into when I move to the northern VA/DC area for grad school in 2 months.

My gf and I will be living in a 1-bedroom apt that's going to be no more than 850 sq. ft. total, so we're looking at a relatively small living room (though it will partly open up into the kitchen).

Anyway, I've decided on an Ascend Acoustics setup for the speakers... I have 2 170SE's on the way, and will either go with 2 170SE's + a 340SE center up front with 2 more 170SE's for surrounds, or 340SE's all around with the 170SE's pulling surround duty. I'm looking at a Marantz SR6003 or HK AVR 354 for the AVR.

So, my question is: For a small apartment living room where I need to be wary of annoying my neighbors with strong bass, would I get any benefit out of a nice sub? Or any sub at all, for that matter?

I'm leaning towards grabbing a cheap Polk PSW10 because there's a slickdeal on it currently. I know it wouldn't compare to a $400 SVS or Hsu sub, but I'm thinking that I may end up having to disable a strong sub like those half the time if they're as forceful as I've heard.

I fully intend to buy a monster 12" sub when I get a house, but that won't be for 3-6 years from now.

So, for an apartment (considering you want to be friendly to your neighbors), would you recommend:

A) Skip the sub altogether and live with a 5.0 system for now and get mains that may have decent low frequency responses (340SE)

B) Grab a cheap sub like the Polk PSW10 since it won't be a floor shaker, but will be better with lows than any bookshelf mains could hope to be (assuming this is true of the PSW10)

or

C) Go for an SVS, Hsu, eD or (place your recommended sub here) because it will be much better than the PSW10 but isn't likely to annoy the neighbors at certain settings.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

I'd go with C but stick to the lower lines are miles ahead in performance over the lower end polks etc.
I wouldn't skimp on the sub. You're getting very nice mains and a cheap sub could sound worse with them than no sub at all. Since you're needs aren't that great at the moment I'd get something like the HSU STF 2 which is an excellent quality sub that will get down low enough in the frequency range for HT. Then when you move if you find it's lacking in a larger area you can move it to a smaller room setup.

If you're looking at budget and want something to fill in until you move then I'd recommend trying the Velodyne VX10. It won't dig as low in the frequency range as the svs, hsu choices but still better than the PSW10 and is a very good little sub that can be picked up at a very good price, much better choice than the PSW10

I would add a sub dude into your budget. You want to isolate the sub from the floor. Even though you can't turn it up to get the impact, it can still fill in the bottom end. At low volumes, the neighbors will probably be able to hear it, but it shouldn't be at annoying levels.

great advice Ransac.

i would get the 340se's and run them alone and see how you like them. chances are they will be ok for apartment living. apartments and subs really dont mix. i would at least wait to see who you will have for neigbors. you never know you might get somebody cool, but then again you might get that bitter old woman that goes to sleep at 8:00 pm.

Thank you all for the great recommendations.

I'm still torn, but I think I'll go for the 340 SE's now and then look at the sub again once I move in.

I've seen that Hsu has a reputation for making "musical" subs, which is exactly what I'd be looking for. So, as Jakeman recommends, the STF-2 is probably my top choice if I go for a sub -- and it fits nicely under the $450 budget I'd set for a good sub.

I also really like the look of the Hsu VTF-1 in Rosenut -- that would definitely help with the WAF (or in my case, GAF). It's $200 more than the STF-2. Can anyone comment on whether it would be a much better sub for music than the STF-2?

Get a subdude for sure and strongly consider this sub

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

Thank you all for the great recommendations.

I'm still torn, but I think I'll go for the 340 SE's now and then look at the sub again once I move in.

I've seen that Hsu has a reputation for making "musical" subs, which is exactly what I'd be looking for. So, as Jakeman recommends, the STF-2 is probably my top choice if I go for a sub -- and it fits nicely under the $450 budget I'd set for a good sub.

I also really like the look of the Hsu VTF-1 in Rosenut -- that would definitely help with the WAF (or in my case, GAF). It's $200 more than the STF-2. Can anyone comment on whether it would be a much better sub for music than the STF-2?

For your needs I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference between them. The VTF-1 gives the ability for selectable extension or output mode. In max output mode it'll probably have a little more headroom which won't be an issue with you at the expense of giving up a little on the low end freq range.

I to highly recommend the subdude. Personally I'd go for the STF-2 and use the savings for the subdude but I understand GAF and $200 can be a minimal expense to make sure that goes smoothly. No matter which way you go between them you're getting a quality sub.

For your needs I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference between them. The VTF-1 gives the ability for selectable extension or output mode. In max output mode it'll probably have a little more headroom which won't be an issue with you at the expense of giving up a little on the low end freq range.

I to highly recommend the subdude. Personally I'd go for the STF-2 and use the savings for the subdude but I understand GAF and $200 can be a minimal expense to make sure that goes smoothly. No matter which way you go between them you're getting a quality sub.

I would get an Acoustic Audio HD-Sub10 which you can get on ebay for around $130-150 add a subdude or gramma for $50-60. Its nothing overkill but I think would fill your low-end needs for really cheap. That way if you find out the apartment your in has thin walls or jealous neighbors your not coming out of pocket too much. You wont get much reviews on here but go here http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=85212
or I've heard Energy's ESW-V8 is ideal also which you can get for $249 on ebay. Then when your done with school and ready to buy a house you can upgrade later.