Low Volumes

I think Leahy may have the right concept. Point sources and line sources decay at a different rate according to distance from the speaker. The 'thump' of the maximum SPL from the speaker (as it produces the thump) being equal, a point source speaker's SPL decay pattern will be faster than a line source's - a point source will see the sound pressure decay according to the inverse square of the distance (-6dB for every doubling of distance), while the line source SPL will decay linearly with distance (-3dB with every doubling of distance). All other things being equal, this should mean electrostats or planars will give better low-level sound than point source speakers from a seating position when compared with a similar SPL at the source.

Personally, I think horns do the low-level thing VERY well, and some of this may be because of their ability to play with a very low noise floor due to efficiency and some of it because their air loading of the sound wave means the standard sound pressure level decay pattern is somewhere between a line source and a point source.

As Larryi suggests, the bass energy is easily transmissible in many cases. In mine, it is not the bass energy which comes through (unless one is right beneath, but my speakers are placed where it is impossible for my neighbors to be under) but piano. YMMV depending on the materials/construction between you and your neighbors Many horns will be deficient in deep bass, but high efficiency bass drivers can do low SPL bass quite well I find, and as long as the bass drivers are high efficiency, integration can be handled well enough.