This is the line that invalidates everything above it. So long as the target cap is lower, sentinels could have higher damage per shot than blasters and still get out-dpsed because, in case you haven't noticed, CoH combat revolves around AOE damage. Single target offense only matters for boss battles, which represent a small fraction of the game. (Also, lower range is an additional - and severe - nerf to any cone attack; some powersets are hurt worse than others by this.)
I want to like the AT. I have character concepts that a working version of the sentinel would be a great fit for. But as it stands, sents are just plain inferior to every other ranged class where it matters most: the ability to quickly take down large groups.