Update -
Tried to audition the Parasound, not the Halo integrated but the pre+power. I visited the dealer here on Brigade road who helped me unload my speakers and then tried for a good hour or so to find a DAC that could read my flac files on the pen drive. He struggled with it and finally found an Oppo player/dac/avr (not sure what model it was) which did read the files, but he could not switch to a stereo setup on the settings and thus it was an unsuccessful exercise.
Eventually, we did try some cds he had and I found the soundstage disappointingly shallow and the imaging not very good either. The lower ranges were not coming through and it sounded a bit too gentle.
I suspect it is not the amps that were the culprits, but improper setup knowledge of the showroom manager. I feel the amps, with the amount of power they are capable of, should have been able to easily drive my speakers. The amp is loaded with features and I find it quite alluring (anyone heard this already?)
The attitude of the manager also left a lot to be desired, along with his unpreparedness and lack of knowledge on the setting up, in that he was unwilling to let me handle the remote for the volume controls and generally had a very nonchalant demeanor, which is a bit of a put off. Overall, it ended up being a disappointing and wasteful adventure.
