I cannot comment on the center channel as i got rid of mine all together. i had a VP180-v3 and i just couldn't get it to sound right no matter what i did.
Now, put it into perspective, I am running a set of LFR1100 speakers that have just a massive sound to them that the center channel always seemed to feel so directional and in my face, but weak sounding when put into the context of the left and right channel. For me, i did the unorthadox and removed the speaker all together from my system and left it to the Anthem preamp to phantom the center through the left and right out. This solved my sound problem completely for me in the center became a massive sound and blended in perfectly with the left and right sound mix in movies.
I can however comment on B-Stock, Refurbs and what to expect. Ian is a perfectionist and I don't think he would ever let a sub standard speaker leave his shop. If he got in a sub par speaker, i am sure he would bin it than let something that could cause issues out the door.
I have bought far too many Axiom speakers than I'd like to admit. I have bought Factory New, B-Stock and Refurbished speakers. If I lined up all my Axiom speakers side by side and asked anyone to pick out of the line what ones are Factory, B and Refurb, I would bet that not one single person would get it right. I wasted 3 hours going over my first b-Stock purchase and couldn't find what was wrong. To this day i have yet to figure out what wasn't right. Axiom just makes good products. | 
