Like you, I tried to resist....
Just got my VP150 2 days ago! After one night of listening, it's already been worth the upgrade. Don't know how nice your Merak sounds though compared to my previous cheap center channel, so the upgrade might not be as big a leap as it was for me!

M60s, VP150, QS8 x4 ACI Titan II sub Anthem AVM20 pre/pro Anthem PVA7 amp Panasonic DVD-RP91