As for the Theatre 4's, I hope the 3.5 watts is enough; my room is 28X12. My 65 watt receiver gets mighty loud at 9 o'clock. 2 things are very clear, though. 1, in regard to your concerns about bass, there is nothing "overpowering", "artificial" or "augmented" about what these monsters put out. If it's on the recording, you hear it. That brings me to 2., forget about Cardas and nearfield and everything you feel about the illusion speakers present. The Pi's are that different. Not entirely good different, although mainly so. You can't look at a 24X36 plane with a 15" round eyeball in and think they disappear. Wayne says the woof and tweet mix after 3 feet in the nearfield. They have less of a sweet spot than anything I've heard. There's imaging and localization of instruments but it's just... different.
Come visit me in north central Ohio; don't forget to wipe your feet when you leave.