So, I compared the R-25C with my current setup's center from my main living room (http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340c/cmt340c.html). I disconnected all other speakers and ran it in 7ch "Music" mode to send roughly "full" output to the center. I used standard surround decoding during movies. I had ranged the volume from soft to pretty much cranking it.
I tried both with some music (Mastodon and Hozier), and then the opening scene from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring which has some incredibly deep bass (blast after Sauron is taken down), and incredibly screechy highs (Orcs howling), along with the narration of Galadriel's smooth voice (I played it on BR disc, but this is this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhjDnrw34QA).
I found the Ascend to be noticeably bassier (it has bigger woofers) and perhaps a bit "fuller" sounding (not sure how to describe it...it gave off more of a non-directional sound...the sound seemed to "fill the room" more, even at lower volumes).
The R-25Cs were louder at the same volume, which made it harder to compare apples/apples.
I think the R-25c did very well in the movie the movie test, although I preferred the Ascend overall in music.
One strange thing I've noticed. I was testing on an Xbox One, and the sound it plays when navigating the menu has some harsh frequency which always sounds horrible on nearly every speaker I've tried it on...it rattles the built-in speakers of all of my TVs, a soundbar I have, and it does as well on the R-25c, but surprisingly is much less noticeable on the Ascend (but is still there). Just a small thing I noticed.
Bottom line, I think the R-25c is a fairly solid performer and I might end up keeping it...I do wish I'd gotten it for less than MSRP to make me feel a bit better about the purchase. I need to test the rest of the speakers though, but I'm hoping they all work out b/c I'm not looking forward to re-packaging/returning them...especially the R-28Fs. I've been kinda busy this weekend, but I'm aiming to check them out tonight if all works out.
Again, thanks for all of the input.