It is an age old issue in that center channels were designed as a convenience in setting up HTs as opposed to maximizing performance. I can recall back years ago when THX and surround sound came on the scene in home systems and they always recommended the same design speakers across the front sound stage, however, in most cases it just wasn't practical,hence, the horizontal center.
The new large horizontal speakers like the VP180 and its design goes a long way toward negating that disadvantage, however, because of its size, that, unfortunately, opens up another area of limited practicality in its usage.
