First do no harm!
The End Game & The Conductor were conceived nearly two
years ago (summer 2005) when we were carrying out the ultimate in pure
listening tests. Running the Prey head units full range with no DEQX or
any crossover at all we used a CEC belt drive transport with the digital
output hard wired into our (then prototype) DAC's and used naked Vishay
resistors to give passive control of the volume.
The power amp was a "one off" Class A solid state stereo
power amp designed and refined over the last 10 years. All equipment was
running from dedicated laboratory grade mains and wired throughout with
solid core silver cables.
We discovered that the Prey (with our silver wired Manger
drivers) have a level of Purity and natural life-like sonics that went far
beyond any other speaker we had ever heard. We knew then that we had to
develop all our other electronics and cables up to this rarefied
level. All current Overkill Audio products have been developed and refined
to complement the unique time and phase coherent point source
characteristics of the Prey.
Using the DEQX software, The Conductor takes care of all
the linear phase crossover & room correction EQ operations.
Using exclusive Overkill Audio power supplies, our analogue
to digital converters, USB inputs, non resonant casework, solid core
silver cabling, Eichmann silver connectors and RFI & EMI screening ensures
these digital operations are successfully completed to the highest
standard.
Enter The End Game.
The End Game then gives you the option of raising the bar
even higher in two crucial areas of performance; digital to analogue
conversion and analogue volume control. Please do not under
estimate the vital importance of analogue volume control! We have tested &
listened to a myriad of digital volume controls all claiming to be "non
decimating", technically perfect and sonically invisible. Guess what, we
can clearly hear them in operation every single time and we don’t like
what we hear!
The tiny surface mount chip that controls the analogue
volume in the standard DEQX is one of the best of its type.
But as the entire music signal has to pass through this
chip we focused on greatly improving upon its performance by replacing it
with the "purest of the pure", naked Vishay resistors.
Until now these almost mythical devices have been the
exclusive preserve of the military or critical aerospace and medical
applications as they are over 100 times more expensive than the more
commonly used resistors in audio circuits. Whilst we use a total of 87,
yes 87 (!) naked Vishay resistors in each End Game, our unique "shortest
possible signal path" (SPSP) circuit design ensures that the delicate
analogue signal only has to pass through one or two resistors at any given
volume level. Their unrivalled performance, insignificantly low
temperature coefficient (0.3 PPM !) and legendary reliability make them
the perfect choice for Overkill Audio. Lets look in a bit more detail at
their performance, first temperature coefficient.
Normal Temp Co (TCR) for a good quality metal film resistor
is about 100 PPM (parts per million) and upwards, Overkills naked Vishays
are 0.3 PPM from 0 to 60 degrees centigrade! This TCR relates to how much
change in resistive value there is with a change of overall temperature,
whether induced by any current passing through the resistor, or by ambient
changes. It is vital to eliminate temperature induced changes in resistive
value as this adversely affects the circuit's operation. What good are
high tolerance resistors in the first place, if the resistance changes so
frequently with signal induced and ambient temperature changes?
Also rise-time (never normally specified by
resistor makers) is 1nano-second! Now that is high speed!
Intrinsic (self-generated) noise is
immeasurably low, and is again crucially important to preserving the
purity and integrity of delicate analogue signals. All conventional
components and circuit designs will add some unwanted noise to the signal,
and this gets multiplied up when typically there are many components in
series.
Naturally we specified ultra high audio tolerances of 0.1%.
But even then we were not content as the standard values were not close
enough to our required values. So we commissioned custom values, accurate
to 6 decimal places, (!) manufactured to avoid any possible channel
imbalance or deviation from the 1dB steps in the volume attenuation. This
elevated level of production quality is simply beyond the ability of 99.9%
of component manufacturers. But achieving the impossible (or at least
improbable!) means you will always enjoy the purest and most natural sonic
images and be able to find the perfect volume level with our true
precision 1dB steps in attenuation.
The finest available hermetically-sealed
relays were chosen only after careful listening trials for zero
interference with the delicate analogue signals. Similarly, the choice was
only finalised after physically dissembling each relay considered
sonically acceptable, to internally inspect them for the finest
constructional methods and materials, to ensure a long and trouble-free
life in the field.
Of the 5 internal transformers used, the 3
which are critical for audio circuitry are over-rated by some 280 times(!)
their actual circuit requirements, and amongst other attributes have
electrostatic inter-winding shields and GOSS circumferential bands to
prevent HF mains pollution from reaching the sensitive audio circuits.
These centre-potted and uniquely-mounted transformers have been designed
by specialists in this field to ensure the lowest possible mechanical
vibration and hum.
We carefully blended a cocktail of the
world's best capacitors including Teflon V-Caps, extended-foil
polystyrenes, and non-polarised Black Gate electrolytics revealing
previously undiscovered sonic detail & textures.
Most of these capacitors cost several
hundred times more than "the usual suspects" typically used in high end
audio.
This level of obsessive attention to detail is Overkill
Audio's engineering hallmark. It's our guarantee to ensure your peace of
mind; "relax its Overkill Audio!" When you are chilling out listening to
your favourite music you can smile & be secure in the knowledge that our
dedicated team of engineers and music lovers have gone the extra mile (and
then some!) in the creation of your system… this is as good as it gets!
Now we come to the digital to analogue conversion process.
This is the core activity which, if done correctly, can elevate
digital audio above the very best analogue audio. Yes it is true! Digital
done right is beautiful!
Over the last few years the great digital debate has been
concentrating on two schools of thought. First the high tech "more is
more" ever increasing layers of processing with higher bit rate, faster
sampling, over sampling, up-sampling, double, triple, multiple DAC chips ,
better measurements equals better sound. It works for data handling and
number crunching so it must work for audio, its logical. DCS, Wadia, EMM
Labs Anagram technology MSB etc they all think so. Are they right? Well
before we answer that question here is another question. Is there now, or
will there ever be, any individual or company that can categorically make
the following statement;
"I / we now know absolutely 100% everything there is to
know about digital audio (or indeed any subject under the sun) and no
other discoveries or developments in this field or any other area of
science will ever have any impact on or alter our current understanding"
No one with any credibility will ever be able to truthfully
make the above claim.
How can we find the answers when we don’t know what
questions to ask?!
Electrical measurement can only help when we know what
to measure!
Enter the second school of thought "less is more" the
absolute minimum amount of processing, minimum mass, shortest signal
paths, minimum format conversion, and minimum component count. Recently
Zanden, Audio Note, AMR, and a growing number of others have been
extolling the virtues of Non Over Sampling (NOS) DAC's.
A wise man once said (although I forget when I said it!)
"There are two types of people in the audio world…
Those who read meters and those who read music!"
Too many audio "experts" forget the
golden rule of music;
It's more important how the music sounds than how it
measures!
After all our technical R&D combined with thousands of
hours of listening tests we now believe "less is more" and NOS technology
can indeed outperform the more complex higher sampling rate chips.
But (there is always a but!) we discovered that the
electrical and mechanical infrastructure required to support NOS
technology is not as simple as it first appears.
The
End Game's unique circuit design & overall concept is a radical departure
from all previous high end audio equipment. Nothing less could achieve the
astonishing levels of fidelity and life-like natural musical reproduction
from digital source material.
All internal
circuits have been painstakingly and thoughtfully designed for the
shortest possible signal-paths, with gold-plated traces being adopted
throughout, together with double-sided PTH PCBs being used. The entire
digital and analogue PCBs are ground-planed, but separately from each
other, to eliminate any unwanted cross-talk and consequent pollution of
the sensitive analogue sounds.
We have "surfed the world" to source the
finest quality materials and exotic parts vital to the development of such
a bold project. All R&D work was completed entirely in the United Kingdom
by a dedicated team of audio engineers with over 100 years experience
between them!
Over a year has been expended on listening
to, and finally selecting 'by ear', every individual component used in
the circuits, and nothing has been spared in the pursuit of absolute
perfection. Resonance control and critical damping of the entire
enclosure, together with all internal parts, has received similar
attention to ensure that no external or internal influences can have any
adverse effect on the purity of the sounds which reach the listener's
ears.
Please remember that there is absolutely no one else on the
planet able to develop any electronics that can approach, never mind
match, our level of sonic purity and dynamics. I repeat
there is absolutely no one else on the planet able to do this.
Why I hear the sceptical voice ask! Because no one else has the Prey! Some
people may think they have heard the Manger drivers and know their
potential, but until you get rid of passive crossovers and timber cabinets
you can not even begin to understand their beauty. We enjoy when the
“extreme” DIY guys come for an audition to see how their creations compare
with our commercial systems and they always leave with a “wow I never
knew…!” Even Audio Physics Medea owners are amazed at the dynamics and
realism of our speakers.
The Prey is our secret weapon, it’s like the having of an
electron microscope when everyone else is using a magnifying glass!
Using the prey we have developed a range of matching time
coherent bass systems and electronic components that are totally unique.
That's why we are able to be so confident and say that
without any doubt The Conductor and End Game combination are the best
Digital processor / Pre amp / DAC available in the world today.
For obvious commercial reasons, we can not reveal details
about our choice of components, our circuit design and engineering
techniques. The case work will have no visible fixings and is designed to
be impossible to open without the key (similar to the locks on Porsche
alloy wheels) and if the case is forced it will cause irreparable damage
to the internal wiring. In addition if someone buys a unit to rip it open
they will find that all components are sanded clean with no ID and all the
boards and components are fully potted in a resonance control epoxy
compound. So basically no way to reverse engineer this baby!!
We have massively over engineered the
components and all voltage and heat limitations have a minimum of three
times rating so faultless operation and total reliability is built in with
peace of mind. There are no valves or user serviceable parts in the design
and all units are covered with our "back to base" 3 year guarantee.
All units (and indeed all Overkill speakers
and electronics) have a micro chip identity device imbedded in them. This
chip contains the “service history” of the unit and can only be read or
updated by using one of our hand held reader / scanner devices. This
security device helps reduce insurance costs, enhances resale value,
discourages would be thieves and eliminates the threat of buying a cheap
Chinese fake. All using the same equipment as vets do to micro chip cats &
dogs! Another great first from Overkill Audio…!
Product Dimensions;
(W) 445mm (H) 150mm (D )400mm
Weight 21Kg (Shipping 28Kg)
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