Another phantom center advocate here.

I also had the VP100/150 dilemma, but thought why not try the phantom first. So far I have been happy with it.

IMHO a dedicated center is needed only if you have a serious HT room with 10K+ equipment. Otherwise it's not worth the trouble with placement, timber match, etc.

M60 + QS8 + SVS PB10 + Yamaha HTR-5640 + Pioneer 578a