Senator(future aspirations?)welcome and congratulations on your upcoming graduation from law school. Be sure to study-up for the bar, of course. As for the surrounds, the QS8s are so outstanding that they are in my view the clear choice of those that you've listed.
The best "bang for the buck" in a center speaker would be a vertical unit identical or at least as similar as possible to the mains. The fine off-axis performance of the cc-590 and cc-690 is understandable, since they in effect are small vertical speakers handling the mid-range and treble, while flanking woofers handle the less directional bass. This was noted by the reviewer in the Epic 80 review now featured in the Axiom blog, where the extreme dispersion was the only area where the Paradigm center was considered to be superior. Again though, a regular vertical speaker is more cost-effective for such use.
Over the course of law school, I have pointed to numerous problems in the laws as written and one of our professors pointed out that I should become a Congressman to rewrite the laws. A few of my friends took to calling me Senator and the nickname stuck. If that opportunity does present itself, I will jump at the chance (because it can be done so much better!) But for now, I am only worried about graduating, and per your suggestion, studying for the bar exam, and getting my reward in new speakers.
So, you suggest another (third) M80 instead of the VP 180 for the center channel speaker?
If I did get the VP 180 and mount it vertically above my plasma screen, would it best to tilt it back down toward my listening position when mounted?
