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.
