I do most of my riding solo or with only 2-4 riders on roads that are never flat and split up by hills with some serious gradients, and I enjoy my compact chainring alot. The small chainring on a triple never suited me on the road. I am a high cadence rider, and can maintain 25mph+ speeds with gearing to spare in the 50t chainring.
The 34t chainring is a bit too small for my taste, but it gives you a bailout gear for long climbs and allows you to get home after a punishing ride filled with interval sprints. Personally for compacts I prefer the 50/36 setup at the moment with a 11-21 cog at the back.
When it comes to triples vs compacts I think the compacts are the bee's knees. They allow you to use smaller cogs at the back which saves a lot of weight. The 5.2 is a serious bike and you are paying weight savings.
My advice is to think about what gears you use the most on your old bike and run some calculations on what size gears you use the most. Sheldon Brown has a good gear calculator on his site (google it it will pop right up) that even gives calculations based on cadence. If a compact fits into your riding style go for it!