Haven't tried a fantom center. Maybe tonight I'll see how that sounds.

Worked really well for me when I was sitting DIRECTLY in front of the TV. Moving just a little to the side destroyed it.

Isn't that the reason he wanted to switch to an M2? Because the VP150 didn't work correctly if not sitting in the center.

Hi turbo,

When I looked at the photo at the beginning of this thread, I thought to myself, well, you do have your VP150 kind of buried in that equipment stand. I think interference and boundary effects from the neighboring equipment might well affect the lateral dispersion of the VP150. Following up kcarlile's comment, try pulling the center out a bit and see if it improves anything.

All speakers function better in free space. This, of course, makes placement of center channel speakers a real pain in the butt. In my own case, when I placed a VP150 in the equipment stand below my flat screen, I hated the sound. Moving it to a metal shelf supported by the TV reduced coloration and improved intelligibility.

And no, with all the talk of using an M2 as a center, which I've tried, it will not keep up with the M80s at higher SPL levels and may sound strained. After all, the 150 has five drivers and the M2 just two. At higher playback levels, the VP150 is much better equipped to deliver clean, high-volume dialog.

For aesthetic reasons, I doubt you'll want to move your center to less-encumbered placement above the screen or stand. There might be an arrangement of dual M2s that could work for you. I'll think about it.

Cheers,
Alan

That is how the vp150 acts in my room.

It seems I've seen this somewhere, but what about a center design that has speakers pointing in 3 directions forward, and slightly off to the sides, and maintaining the horizontal design?

Strange. What I get with my VP100 (not ideally placed, probably not set up right) is that it overpowers the other speakers, so EVERYTHING sounds like it's coming from the center, even off axis.

Well, Ken, you DO have it bumped up 26dB....

Good point Alan, thanks for making it. That's one aspect that I hadn't considered though it's obvious now that you mention it.
Out of curiosity and education for the rest of us, what was your experience like using the M2 as a center channel (aside from not keeping up with the M80's).

Turbo,

I looked again at the photo. What is on top of your stand? Is there a flat surface you could try putting the VP150 on, angled down a bit? It should improve dialog intelligibility and from the photo, the center would still be close enough to the screen to anchor dialog in the center.

Using a "phantom" center is hopeless. You can't adjust the center channel level and off-axis the center will shift to the nearest M80-- highly undesirable.

Alan