Originally Posted by
TrojanHorse
For that matter, I'm not really sure what a carbon stem really improves so I'm still clamping my carbon bars with AL stems...

+1. Stems need to be strong in every direction, so you're just paying for 'black aluminium' with no weight benefit.
IME, carbon bars (particularly aero) do a great job of damping vibration on their own; I'd say if a stem is soft enough to contribute in that way, it'll be a power-sapping noodle, judging from my experience with light ally stems.