You know reading this and some of Tydeus posts, I've rethought the idea of going abck to old system but with an xp cap. Instead I propose:
"Based on what others have written, there does seem a very desirable solution of just making base xp 2000 and removing all the generation xp bonuses. Most desirable because no one is really nerfed (even gen 12+ are better off then the current patch) and the feeling of grind is significantly curtailed for new players and getting to level 31 is still enough of a grind comapred to 30 that heirlooms are not going to proliferate, especially since retiring has far fewer advantages (heirloom buffs all nerfed and no xp gain)."
Talked further with some of the guys I play with that are still gen one, as well as brought Aldryk into vent and talking with him about it a bit. We all pretty much agreed on this idea.
One observation that is worth noting, for better or worse, balance seems to be working better than it was post patch. I've seen a hell of a lot more back and forth wins than ever before, sadly though, this takes a toll on one's average multiplier. With everyone's average multi going down, essentially you're getting less xp per minute at gen 1 than you were with the previous system, even though the xp is still 1000 a tic and just as often.
At gen 1, with an average of a 1.5 multiplier for the gen and 2K base, it would still take you 74 hours to go from level 1 to 31. I'd project the average multi now is slightly higher than that, 1.7-1.8 maybe, but that's still a significant amount of time for a gen 1.