You nailed it Crazyb! As someone posted a while back, the fit of rider to bike and also the geometry of the tubes matter more than the frame material. A really good set of handbuilt wheels with even spoke tension will transform a bike.

As a confirmed retrogrouch who started cycling seriously in the early 1970's I love steel but I also love my Madone. CF absorbs the smaller impacts better but steel will absorb the larger bumps better than CF.

If you want the ultimate wheels go with a high quality tubular wheelset. The rims can still be alloy as Mavic, Velocity and HED makes wonderful rims out of metal.