I rarely use center channel with processor

I think maybe what it gets down to is the nature of how the recording was done. If the engineers did a good job with five channels and isolating voices in the center channel then it may work out. But if they mix a lot of non-voice stuff in the center channel and let a lot of voice stuff inappropriately mix into the main channels it mixes things together in a bad way for sound purposes.

Also if you have a system that resolves detail really well that's really impactful too and you notice these things.  

So it gets down to quality of the recording and whether you truly have a good multi channel recording.

  Back in the day my surround had JBL fronts , Klipsch Heresy II rears and Klipsch RC center and a pair of subs. I had a very early Oppo that played SACD. If I used a standard cd , I set it to stereo. I collected concert DVD’s and stereo through 2 or 4 speakers was preferred. In retrospect I ONLY used the center speaker for movies.  

OP what surround media are you listening to for surround?  DVD? I'd agree with those here that are saying two channel music (plus maybe subwoofers on) will typically give the best results for stereo recorded music.  Although I do know some serious audiophiles that use a center channel, I know none that use full surround for two channel music.  Of course you can enjoy your system however you want.  Just curious if you're pushing two channel music to your surround via a surround algorithm or if youre using surround formats for your media playback.

My small 5.1 home theater is controlled by a Sony AVR, and I use the center channel for blu-rays with true 5.1 content. Black Hawk Down, Jurassic Park, Many sound excellent.

This has an awesome soundtrack!

Tony Scott again, turn it up!

For streaming, there is a lot of Pseudo surround, and I often force ’Direct’, or 2 channel Stereo. The sound stage collapses to the front, however, the sound is preferable most often.

@jrareform 

I'm talking about home theater stuff only not stereo listening with two channel sources like like streaming or albums.

All I'm talking about is getting rid of the center channel if you have decent main speakers that do a better job and if the recordings are structured properly by the engineers which is very rare. So I avoid the center channel most of the time.

Problem is if you have a revealing system it really matters because the engineers don't care because most people can't distinguish they just want sound coming from multiple speakers and somehow they think this is wonderful it's probably good for systems that are not resolving