I have an anyang 88, i just relocated my shop because my neighbors complained about noise! Now i am in a 5 unit building where the other four units are used for storage, and i have a three year lease with the noisemaking etc written into the lease. I am in an industrial area so the law is on my side. My anyang is not that noisy at idle, but you do hear it, and as for noise while hammering, my neighbors shared the same slab of concrete with my unit, so the vibration through the slab was what was bothering them. My other neighbors at different locations throughout the industrial park claim they can barely hear it while im hammering. I keep the doors closed when working with the hammer, if you are 100 yards away from your neighbors, have some soundproofing on the walls of the shop, and have the hammer isolated from the rest of the slab, ill bet you'd be ok.
By the way, James is great to deal with before and after the purchase, his customer support is unsurpassed. As for the 88, i love it! I just put new belts on and it is like a brand new hammer! When i moved i re-installed the hammer with 4 inches of wood base, seems to quiet the "crack" that John mentioned. Great hammer, great guy to deal with.