My experience: I had ML Aerius's for my front speakers in a combination 2 channel and 5.1 system. I used a Definitive Technology CLR1000 as my center channel on top of a rear projection TV. The Aerius's were out into the room a bit, and the TV/center was back farther. It always sounded like there was room for improvement. I assumed it was the unequal distances to my listening/viewing location. But I didn't really want to move the TV/center speaker closer to my chair or move the Aerius's back closer to the wall. My priority was 2-channel listening with home theater secondary. Then I got a Martin Logan Cinema to replace the CLR1000 and WOW, what a difference. It wasn't the unequal distances at all. It was the speaker matching. I never tried phantom center in my setup so I can't comment on that versus Cinema versus CLR1000.
