Mine looks fabulous and I am really pleased with it. Both amps were tested side by side on sound and they give exactly the same brilliant AC30 Top Boost tone and are electronically the same except for cabinet design. No real discernable sound difference between them.
As for the Shads sound it does it in spades and is great for home use. I could see it being used at the club next Tuesday with a mic through the PA as the output is not going to be quite enough for a gig type situation but if playing at low volumes you might get away with it in a smallish room.
We tried an extension cab fitted with a Vintage 30 speaker and there was a noticeable improvement in the sound output, but that said the inbuilt speaker does a good job. I think cabinet design probably is a factor as well as using a 12" speaker. (The CA4 is closed back design the ext speaker was open back)
Needless to say I am very happy with this amp and I like the overdrive facility (Master vol/gain) as if you turn the bass and treble to zero and put some extra gain in you get a pretty good Ac15 early sound.
I own a AC30 Heritage and I like the sounds the AC4 does and it is pretty close with an ext cab as I had experience using the AC30 and I heard That sound !
Anyway the Ac30 is a great amp but it is not really suitable for use in the home unless I get a power sink maybe but the little AC4 is light like a lunchbox and does it all.
Cannot recommend them enough !
