It didn't sound like your experience was anything but real rather than something you imagined or a one-time fluke... And, while logically I could agree with the idea that speed / performance differences become (small) incremental differences, I also know that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts...

Last summer I had the opportunity to ride a high end Trek Madonne. The difference in weight, stability and shifting made it shine far more than my 20 year old Cannondale. While each of those things individually would have made it a "better" bike , together they made it a magnificent bike.

Congrats on your N+1!