I did a bit of research after posting (sorry), and it seems that it's problematic / not recommended to lace hubs with cross exceeding 1/9 of spoke count. On that basis, 4X is too high for 32-hole.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...l=1#post590464
This may come from Jobst Brandt's book, where I found the same admonition. With him, I find that the difference between good advice and “unassailable fundamentalist certainty” is hard to discern.That Barnett's Manual concurs is reassuring.