Pico Slim has been in the house for a full week. At last I have a portable rig to match the diminutive IE800 case.
I have been listening constantly on the road and at home over the last eight days. The Pico Slim has done exactly what I hoped with the IE800. As much as I love the IE800 sound signature - my favourite portable IEM to date - I do find that the soundstage can be a bit blanketing and claustrophobic, particularly in quiet environments. The mids are glorious but I find myself wishing that the sun would peak through just a bit. The Pico Slim has opened up the sound of the IE800, providing more space between the instruments and expanding the perceived size of the soundstage. In my view, it is perfect synergy, the missing spice in the mix.
A quality of the Pico Slim is that while it enhances the sense of space and separation, mids sound just a little less thick. This is why I did not like it with the ES5. To my taste it threw off the delicate balance between the mids and treble. (At least one other person on here had the same perception and at least one other person here likes the combination so it is a matter of taste.) I ended up trading away the Pico Slim and sticking with the Stepdance which is utterly neutral. Then when the IE800 came into my life, I found myself wanting the Pico Slim again. I thought that the extra dynamics of the Pico Slim would solve the IE800 blanket effect. I bought it again. And I was right.
In my view the IE800 has rebalanced the sound of the IE800 in the right direction. The greatest compliment I can pay to the Pico Slim + IE800 combination is that on Thursday I spent three hours on the couch in my flat listening to all sorts of music and absolutely in heaven. I had felt that the IE800 was a bit deficient as a home headphone, its bold sound signature too claustrophobic for the peace and quiet. No more. The IE800 is still soaring on subways, fast trains and city streets. And right now, in the quiet of my hotel room, it is hitting all the marks. The changes are subtle; the IE800 is still very much the IE800. The mids still stun. The bass is unchanged in quantity but tighter on the entry and exit. Overall the IE800 is just a bit brighter with a cleaner and more open ambience.
YMMV depending on your tastes but to me this is looking like an end game portable rig.
(Hah! When have you heard that on here before. 
)
Edited by cooperpwc - 1/28/13 at 3:16pm
