Untrue wheel performance penalty?

[eyedrop]

I have been riding a nice Zipp 404 tubular carbon wheelset exclusively for the past 2 or 3 years. Over time, the rear wheel became radially out of true, to the point of me being able to feel a slight hopping sensation when coasting down a hill. It was as if the rear wheel was oval shaped instead of a perfect circle. I took it to the LBS and they said they unfortunately cant do much about it... The braking surfaces were also getting very worn down, and the wheelset in general is pretty toast. So I decided to put the stock clincher alloy wheels back on (Felt TTR2), which have never been used and were in perfect condition. I swear, I actually felt like I was going faster on those wheels. Everything just felt silky smooth and quick, despite them being considerably heavier and less aero than my Zipps! Both wheelsets were using open corsa cx and corsa cx, so tires were as similar as it gets.

Is it probable that a perfectly true budget wheelset will outperform a worn out expensive wheelset? Or am I just imagining things?

[Calnago]

The riding feel of a perfectly true and round wheelset, budget or otherwise, will be much nicer than a wheel that is not perfectly round and true, for sure. And the smoother the roads the more you will notice it. I don't think you're imagining anything.