Race you and I disagree about the speakers he has. If they are not working properly I would just get rid of them and start over.
That means he effectively has no speakers. So getting a center wouldn't be the most pressing need, a set of mains would. That's why I suggested the 2.1 setup as...
If you don't have any off center seating positions then you can get by without a center. A center just anchors dialogue to the screen for those off center seating positions. I'm not sure I would build a system around a center speaker. I would pick what you want for main speakers and match the...