Perhaps I unreasonable assumed we were comparing a Cervelo (any) to a wood frame, not two high-tech carbon Cervelos (fwiw, I ride an S3). There absolutely are differences and the gamut is broad, but the differences are subtle when comparing two very similar products.

As an aside, the placebo effect is real, and I attribute a lot of strong product opinions re: fitness equipment (doesn't matter if bikes or running shoes) to how they make people feel, not how they objectively perform.