I did notice a very slight difference. I had my stock 16" Colt gov't carbine(lightweight bbl) upper that I was swapping out with, (using same ammo combinations), and the PRI fat boy tubed upper had slightly noticeably less perceived recoil. All things weren't quite equal though. The PRI fat boy upper was a Colt 1-9 14.5" HBAR, w/ KAC FF tube, and the Colt gov't carbine was stock w/ plastic hand guards, 1-7, and lt-weight bbl.
The difference I noticed was kind of like the difference felt after switching from M-193 to the walmart winchester .223 55gr, this is the closest I can describe.
Again no failures at all. I expected to have problems with the winchester .223 rounds from wal mart, but oddly enough they performed just as well as the M-193, just not as hot/snappy.