I thought that too, so I picked up a new SRAM Red chain right after my first ride on the new wheels and cassette. The new chain helps a bit, but still nowhere near as consistent as it used to be with Shimano/Shimano cassette and chain.

I haven't run with a different (new) cassette yet. I ordered a PG1170 after my last ride, but it hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully it shows up by Friday, as I should be able to skip out of work a little early and get some miles in. I saw the thread on the CNC cassette, which looks really snazzy... but given that I already have good experiences with the PG1170 11-28, and it was only $60, I thought it best to stick with that. I considered a DuraAce 12-28 - the wear issues don't concern me that much (after all, I cruise at 120-160 watts, and really can't hold 350w for more than a handful of minutes - don't the pros that DuraAce is built for hold ~350w for hours on end, with kilowatt sprinting ability? Yeah, not me), but I couldn't find one for much less than ~$250.

All that said - I noticed that Shimano finally puts out an 11-30T with every cog between 11-17... but only for 12 speed (which I don't have), which is only Di2 (which I don't really want). Good for Shimano, always putting out exactly what I don't want to spend money on!