I have owned B&W 602 s2 and also enjoy a more robust bass presentation. Here is my opinion:
1) This is subjective and there are many 602 lovers out there, but I feel that you could do better. See below.
2) No, in my opinion they are not too old. There are plenty of older speakers than the B&Ws that still sound good.
3) Probably not. The bass "thump" you get in your chest, in my experience, is more from bass frequencies between 120-30hz. In my experience the 602 s2 had pretty weak bass that seemed to roll off very early. You want bigger woofers or mid-woofers with relatively high excursion (i.e., not the 602 s2). You could, of course, cross the sub really high, but the sub will probably sound very unnatural and "one-note" above ~40hz.
4) Can't help you here, as I've always had small to medium size rooms. Sorry.
As for other suggestions in that price range, I think Large Advents in good condition may give you the sound you are looking for. Or perhaps you could get lucky and find a used Snell C/V on craigslist, or Vandersteen 2C. You also may want to consider a used pair of studio monitors with 8" woofers (great bass-to-size ratio and no need for an amp). I thought Totem was a big improvement over the 602, but they may be hard to find in your price range.
1) This is subjective and there are many 602 lovers out there, but I feel that you could do better. See below.
2) No, in my opinion they are not too old. There are plenty of older speakers than the B&Ws that still sound good.
3) Probably not. The bass "thump" you get in your chest, in my experience, is more from bass frequencies between 120-30hz. In my experience the 602 s2 had pretty weak bass that seemed to roll off very early. You want bigger woofers or mid-woofers with relatively high excursion (i.e., not the 602 s2). You could, of course, cross the sub really high, but the sub will probably sound very unnatural and "one-note" above ~40hz.
4) Can't help you here, as I've always had small to medium size rooms. Sorry.
As for other suggestions in that price range, I think Large Advents in good condition may give you the sound you are looking for. Or perhaps you could get lucky and find a used Snell C/V on craigslist, or Vandersteen 2C. You also may want to consider a used pair of studio monitors with 8" woofers (great bass-to-size ratio and no need for an amp). I thought Totem was a big improvement over the 602, but they may be hard to find in your price range.