Do not let anyone's "opinion" sway you. There are a lot of "myths" in cycling, i.e. don't do this, do that. Try everything. The fact that the saddle isn't comfortable means nothing. I don't know anyone who kept the saddle that came with his/her bike.
I have Speedplay X pedals on one road bike and Speedplay Frogs on the other. I've also used regular SPDs. I liked the SPDs until my knees started complaining and now that I've been using Speedplays for about 7-8 years I never want to change.
I have the same saddle on both bikes and I don't want to change that, either!