Phantom Center sound better than a center speaker?

I was messing around with my HT setup last night. I have B&W 603S2's in the front with a B&W ASW600 sub. I picked up some Axiom speakers for surrounds and have a VP50 as a center surround speaker for my 6.1 setup. I currently do not have a center but will be getting a B&W LCR600.

Some of my rears have not come in yet so I figured I would break in my rear center surround by using it as my center channel front for a while. I knew the sound would be compressed since the VP-50 has small dual 4.5" mid's while the B&W's have dual 6.5" mid/mid-bass. However I was not prepared to have the sound literally shrink away. I watched TV (analog inputs) and DVD's for grins and came to the easy conclusion that the center I have is not up to the task of keeping up with my front towers.

However, here is my question:

Does a phantom center sound better than actually having a dedicated center speaker in HT? The LCR600 comes with dual 6.5" midbass speakers and a matching tweet but will it have the output to fill out the soundstage? My fronts are only 12' apart and the room floorspace is smallish 16x18 but there is alot of airspace due to vaulted ceilings and no wall between the kitchen and the family room.

Any help is appreciated.

Sorry for the long winded post.

Jeff