Personally, and I think I've already said this one in this thread, I think the fit and finish on the cabs has come a long way since previous generations, and frankly no-one in the audience gives a rats ass if it looks good up close because they can't tell. Again personally, I think my current rig looks the dogs dangly doodles and sounds even better. My band all agree 100%, plus they love the light weight
JTUK, I think the old Compact was certainly never going to be a cab you could like based on what I have gleaned about your sonic goals, howveer I really do think a BB" or Super Compact may surprise you so try one one day if you can. Preferably at a gig, with your bass and amp because, as you will be the first to admit, your last experience seems to have been a bit duff because of the bass and amp as well as the cab...