Non-Vandie center to match Vandie mains?

A friend of mine that has Vandy 3A main speakers recently sold his Vandy VCC-1 and replaced it with a center speaker made by Mission. He is very pleased with its performance. The main key here is to find a center channel that has about the same efficiency and overall tonal character as the Vandy 2Ce's, and preferably also function as a point source. The specific speaker you should buy is also dependent on who far apart your main speakers will be. The issue here is to find a center channel that does a good job of center fill. If the left and right main speakers are quite a distance apart (say, more than 10 feet), the center channel needs to have a spatial characteristics that will fill in the wide center gap. I own Vandy 3A Sig's and use a Vandy VCC-1 Sig center channel which works well, but my main front speakers are quite close together (small room). Hence, the VCC-1 (which acts like a point source) works fine. The friend I mentioned, however, has a large room, and found that his VCC-1 did not provide enough lateral fill to satisfy him. The Mission center channel speaker seems to do the job well, although there are a number of other models that will prove adequate. One of the speaker designs that might be the ticket are those with a D'Appolito configuration, which features a tweeter flanked closely on both sides by mid-range drivers. The D'Appolito arrangement acts like a point source, but due to the spread 3-driver configuration, they also do a good job of "fill". I'd be interested in hearing from you again, since I know other Vandy owners who are ambivalent about the Vandy center channel speakers, and they'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only vandersteen owner who doesn't think much of their centers. Its not so much the quality that concerns me, but the price. I'm on a budget and was able to get the 2ce's for a song (used, of course). However, the centers are difficult to find used and the most recent model costs at least twice what I paid for my mains. On top of that, the original VCC-1 hasn't received glowing reviews from those who have heard it.

As for my setup, they are about 8 feet apart in a small room, so "fill" isn't so much of an issue, I'm more interested in trying to find a good voice match.

I remember some talk a few years back on RAHE about Hales being a decent match for Vandersteen. I personally own 2CE mains with VCC-1 front and VSM surrounds. I just don't like the look of the VCC-1, and find the "choice" of the proximity switch irritating because I constantly double check myself if I want less sound, crisper voices or more sound and deeper (but perhaps chestier) voice. Is the VCC-1 Signature a major step up? Perhaps this speakers design requires $1100 to be a success?