I actually already have a center, so I will just use it for now. My fronts will be about 9 feet apart, by the way.
Does anyone see a significant problem with having the center on a shelf right above the television? If I were to wall mount my TV, I could put the center on my equipment/TV stand, then it will be at the same height as the front speakers-that would be ideal of course. I guess I can certainly 'test' the center in both positions and find out for myself...