Magnepan center...is it really needed ?

IMHO, I believe if you are the only one watching the movie, and you are sitting in the exact center you don't need the center speaker. On reasonable quality speakers, the imaging on the speaker should put dialog in the center where it belongs. Actually, that may be a better setting since you may not have to deal with timbre matching. However, if others are watching (or you are slightly off center), you do need the center since the dialog will not appear to come from the center.

Erk - I am currently using the Maggie center at home along with a pair of 1.6's and the Maggie surrounds. But I'm not sure if I can honetsly answer your question as my setup isn't really working "properly" right now you could almost say. With or without the center channel I don't hear the dialog at the levels that I'd like to. It all seems to be drowned out by the music / explosions / other sound effects. Granted, everything sounds AWESOME, just the dialog is a little quiet. And I'm sure it has something to do with something that I don't know about. - Ryan

I have 1.6's and the Maggie center with MMG's as the rear. I found that by increasing the level of the center and the rears by 1-2 db., over the mains and sub, I have gotten much better imaging and clarity. And for movies only I also boost the 1Khz frequency of the center by 3db. This works in my room with my ears, but you might try it for a starting point. I have found that my center channel works better above the screen rather than below as well. Experimentation is the key. Be patient and try everything.