Pico Slim first impressions and reviews thread. See p31 onwards for a couple of solid reviews +... - Page 54

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo 

I finally got to hear the Pico Slim at a local headfi meet over the weekend. Wasn't expecting to have my jaw dropped so far. Basically no noise, extremely clear, high resolution throughout the spectrum, and so well made. Grade A goodness. Smacks my previous love, the iBasso T3D around the room.

Agreed.  I went through amps like jelly beans for a while.  I am no longer looking for another portable amp.  The Pico Slim suits my needs perfectly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo 

I finally got to hear the Pico Slim at a local headfi meet over the weekend. Wasn't expecting to have my jaw dropped so far. Basically no noise, extremely clear, high resolution throughout the spectrum, and so well made. Grade A goodness. Smacks my previous love, the iBasso T3D around the room.

Fair enough - at 3-4 times the cost, it would NEED to smack the T3D around  the room.   

I dont have a problem with Justin's pricing - I accept that his amps are premium products handmade in the US, but the price difference is still significant. Looking forward to the Pico Power, fwiw. 

hi,

is there any significant break-in time for the pico slim?  if so, how long and how does the sound change?

thanks

marty

Received my Pico Slim yesterday morning, and it's about a day since its arrival. My gear is Imod 5th gen -> ALO v2 imod cable -> Pico Slim (formerly Xin reference) -> Ortofon E-Q7.

In terms of practical usage, PS is superb for portable use with Ipod and IEMs. Bound to the Imod with some tight rubber bands, the volume and weight added by the PS is almost negligible maybe except the space for the Imod cable. Its pot is marvelous, you can turn the volume down arbitrarily low without any gang error. For portability, I just hope an Imod cable with smaller profile. I think at least it should be possible to make one with side-attached wires. 

In terms of sound, I admit that PS is a big step up from Xin reference, abandoning my expectations. Their signatures are quite different. After listening to PS, I think Xin had some bright/forward characters in the upper mid/treble, it gave music somewhat more vigor and contrast. PS has a very flat and analytic signature. With its great resolution, PS reveals far more details of music. You can hear very small changes in vocal nuance or very complex texture of orchestration of the back band or the accompanying orchestra. But presentation of such details is always very objective and, let me say, cold. Frequency range is very wide, the lowest notes are easier to hear while the mass of the bass is reduced and it sounds more pin point. Sound color is cold, reminds me colors like blue, navy, gray. In a sense, with PS, I can look down the whole of the music a step back. I don't mean that it's harder to understand music with PS, because it really presents every bit of the deepest detail of the music and makes me be attached to the smallest details even though the music is further away 'physically'. I mean, the presentation is always cool, calm and reserved: so called a 'lean sound'. The sound of PS reminds me paintings of Egon Schiele characterized by very thin and severe lines and coloring (Kuroda Kyouich, a music critic who passed away some years ago had used same analogy describing Wadia 7/9). Well, listening to PS makes me sad and sad yet I cannot stop listening to music with it.

PS is a great creation achieving both extreme portability and hi-fi sound in a tiny body. Very impressed.

Hi;

     Was just wondering if anyone specifically tried this amp with the following IEMS?

Shure EC5, SE530, SE535 and Westone 4R.  I am liking the impressions I'm reading for this but I see very few feedback (barely any, I think I read a couple SE530 feedbacks) with most of the IEMs I'm running.  I'm planning to run this along with a Sony DAP (that I'll have my family members mule over for me when they come back next time from Japan).  Thanks in advance for feedback.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sensui123 

Hi;

     Was just wondering if anyone specifically tried this amp with the following IEMS?

 

Shure EC5, SE530, SE535 and Westone 4R.  I am liking the impressions I'm reading for this but I see very few feedback (barely any, I think I read a couple SE530 feedbacks) with most of the IEMs I'm running.  I'm planning to run this along with a Sony DAP (that I'll have my family members mule over for me when they come back next time from Japan).  Thanks in advance for feedback.
 

I'm using it with the W4R and it's great.  I like it with all of my Westone IEM including W1, W2, W3, UM3X, ES3X and ES5.  Don't have the Shure anymore.

Cool thanks for the feedback, seeing that it's produced great results with the SE530 from some of the previous feedbacks, I'm assuming it'll play nice with the SE535 as well.  Seems like a solid little amp.

Well I am trying to revive this thread with a question:

I am listening to classical music all the time and wondering if the Pico Slim is suitable for diymod iPod 5g and EX1000. Feedback is appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMinor 

Well I am trying to revive this thread with a question:

 

I am listening to classical music all the time and wondering if the Pico Slim is suitable for diymod iPod 5g and EX1000. Feedback is appreciated.

I use an iMod 5-5 > Pico Slim > JH13 (Whiplash v2 re-cable) for mostly classical (some jazz) and I love the sound.  Not sure what others may say about pairing the Slim with EX1000, but Pico works wonders with IEMs.