One of my bikes wears Zipp 303 Firecrest carbon wheels (factory price $2050) and another one wears H.E.D. Emporia alloy wheels (factory price $720). Both wheelsets are considered as better than average at their pricepoint, however I will state unequivocally that the Zipps are NOT $1300 better than the H.E.D. wheels. Yes, I like the Zipps and they look great but the H.E.D. wheels provide all the durability and performance I need and they’re plenty light enough. So, no, unless you race it’s not worth $1400 to upgrade to carbon from a good alloy wheelset. The key phrase is ‘good alloy wheelset’. I’m not talking about the OEM junk on most sub $2K bikes.