Brother, you’re not a heretic or philistine but your subjective opinions are just that. Maybe that one frame was with much thinner tubing or made for somebody who was very light, maybe it was just in your head. Without back to back testing (and it’s been done) i’d say there are very few (if any?) people in Oz who could accurately pick different tubing manufacturers with all else being equal. That latter part is the crux of the argument. Different wheels, different components etc can make a perceived difference to the way a bike rides. A little more easier to test would be the same set up but different tubing gauges, but again many would still not be able to consistently tell the difference between frames. All of this testing needs to be done on the same roads, same conditions etc (ie controlled environment) to be quantifiable and of any real worth. Without such testing parameters any perceived difference in tubing sticker with similar gauge tubing from different brands is for want of a better word all in your mind.
The reality is that we are all enthusiasts and passionate about bikes. That emotion sometimes clouds or obfuscates our opinions and we are all guilty of championing “x” brand bike or tubing etc because we just bought it or like what we are riding. None of us are very objective or have enough statistical data/testing to have weight to any of our opinions. We do gotz plenty of opinions and on many forums the world over, somehow these homespun ideas or myths are oft repeated, then become folklore, before becoming fact. The reality is that Reynolds 531 tubing is a blanket generic term or brand that covers tubing as thin as 0.3mm and as thick as 1.1mm. Any opinions stating that 531 is whippy or flexy or anything really counts for nothing without knowing what gauge of 531 tubing was used. With such a wide range of 531 tubing thicknesses you could make half a dozen bikes and have them all ride very differently.
All else being equal there is little to differentiate between tubing manufacturers. For the most the are all very good. Marketing and myth have fucked with our heads for way too long.
Just the facts ma’am 
Sorry Jlz’s … nice ride. I’d stick with the bars. As blakey said wider bars is similar to getting a longer stem, and you’d be surprised how quickly you’ll adapt to narrow (what you got). On the side narrow bars for CX would be my preference as wider would give more leverage than I’d like but that’s just me. You’re just on a different bike … give it some time to get a better feel for it and not get locked into “one position syndrome” (I just invented that™).
Looks great, very stylish