Is the center the center ??

hales made a terrific center channel with their recent misfortune you should be able to pick it up about half price i did recently and am extremely satified with the speaker. at half price it can't be beaten.

If you are only concerned about the quality of the dialog from the "sweet spot" then you would be better off not using a center. Phantom mode works great when there is only one person and you would swear dialog is coming from the screen. If you would like to lock the dialog to the screen from positions other than the "sweet spot" then you will have to add a center channel, if not then they will hear the dialog coming from either the right or left of the screen depending on which speaker they are closer to. If you can the best way to add a center is to use the exact same speaker as the mains, this is usually only possible though if you have a front projector system. Just go to a dealer that has your exact speakers and listen to various centers to try and match the timber and above all make sure the dialog is clear and your not wondering what was just said. Good Luck

I've found Phantom mode to work great when you don't have an equal quality center, but when you do, a center speaker really "locks" in the center. Revel makes a big deal out of timbre matching, which they claim does not mean "exactly the same as R/L". Try listening to a Revel Voice or [cheaper] Performa C30 to hear how good a center channel sounds.

My system sounds better without the center chanel. With "none" selected for center speaker in my processor it creates a phantom center chanel. The soundstage is seamless and you would swear dialogue is coming from the center speaker which is still sitting on top of my tv. Your Audio Physics should image better than my Proacs so give it a try!