Re: Newbie looking for guidance on what to buy…
I suggest you call Ascend to discuss and see what they recommend.
I used an S2 as a center for awhile. It was very good, although can't comment on the off-axis, particularly at 45 degrees, as we are on-axis, plus/minus a few degrees.
I did upgrade to the Luna Duo - which I felt was better than the S2 (particularly in dialog clarity).
Now I have the Horizon - best so far. It's big though. I had to build a new TV riser for it to fit in my setup.
* LG OLED65E6P, BenqHT2050A
* Anthem AVM90, Rogue ST100, VTV Pascal 7 ch
* Sierra Towers/Horizon (all ELX RAAL), S2EXv2 surrounds, HTM200SEx4 heights, Rythmik E15HPx2
* VPI Classic 1+ (VTA & Fatboy Gimbal), PE Eagle/RR, VAS NOVA, Soundsmith Paua, Manley Chinook, Bob's Devices SUT, SugarCube 1 mini
* Oppo 203 & 103D, EverSolo DMP-A6
* miniDSP Flex, Audiosensibility & Blue Jeans cables, Symposium & Isoacoustics, GIK
* For RDJ: Anthem MRX720, Sierra LX, Luna Duo v2 center, CXNv2, TBD