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URSAMAJOR SST206 Details
SST-206
Re-issued and Updated, Classic Space Station Reverb
The new Space Station SST-206 combines the reissue of the Ursa Major Space Station, a classic reverb and effects unit, with a powerful modern reverberation system, in a case smaller than a typical paperback book. Originally designed in 1978, making it probably the third entrant in the then-young digital reverb market, the continued high level of interest in the Space Station has prompted Christopher Moore, President of Seven Woods Audio, to reissue the SST. And although the new Space Station includes some significant changes, every care has been taken to maintain the original sound that made it such a popular unit.
Moore recalls: "When I designed the Space Station in 1977, I crafted a unique reverb algorithm and the hardware to support it as a single, organic unit. In designing the new SST-206 Space Station, I used a powerful contemporary 24 bit DSP to replicate the original Space Station sound, complete with simulation of the 12-bit floating point converters, the 7kHz bandwidth, and the artifacts of time modulation." Moore added that he resisted the temptation to change the sound of the original unit, affectionately characterized by some of its users as "garage grunge."
According to Moore "The reissue offers Space Station enthusiasts a chance to replace their older units with a smaller, more reliable device. Unlike the original Space Station, which was a 3U rack mount product, the entire SST-206 product fits into what appears to be its remote control. "The remote is the reverb," Moore says. "I realized I could now package the entire product in one small box to reduce its cost, and at the same time give users access to every reverb control from the sweet spot at the console. You don't have to get down on your hands and knees in the dark to adjust this reverb in an equipment rack. In fact, there's nothing to mount in the rack."
With the power available from the Motorola chip used in the new unit, Moore has now pulled out all the stops and rendered a stunning new reverb program he simply calls "room", as well as 24 bit versions of the original Space Station echos. The reverberator is controlled by twelve potentiometers that provide instant, intuitive access to all the important parameters. "The SST-206 harkens to an earlier time, before the multi-level menu structure and one-parameter-at-a-time user interface took over. There is no need for an LCD, no user presets, no MIDI–just an uncluttered panel with twelve clearly labeled knobs with pointers to show the current settings."
The new Space Station measures 6.4 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches, provides AES/EBU digital I/O (or SPDIF using inline adaptors), and accepts 24 bit audio at 48 or 44.1kHz. It is powered by a small external supply built into the breakout cable.
Ursa Major entered the market with its Space Station digital reverb and effects unit in May 1978, making it probably the third entrant in the then-young digital reverb market (after the ground-breaking EMT 250 and the Quad Eight CPR-16). The Space Station occupied the lowest cost segment of the market for the next three or four years and continued to sell for the next eight years. Christopher Moore was the principal founder of Ursa Major and has personally designed both the original and the new Space Stations. Ursa Major expanded and developed other digital reverb products and in 1986 was purchased by AKG Acoustics, Vienna.
URSAMAJOR SST206 FAQ
What kind of I/O connections does it have?
Digital I/O to the AES/EBU standard, on XLR connectors, at end of 12 foot breakout cable. Using in line XLR-RCA adapters, it is possible to interface with equipment with S/PDIF I/O. There are no analog inputs or outputs.
What sample rates does the unit accommodate?
48kHz nominal, 44.1kHz. Operation at 32kHz is possible, but not supported (delay and decay times are all proportionally longer than at 48kHz). Operation at 88.2 or 96kHz is possible in the SST reverb and SST echo programs only, but is not supported (delay and decay times are all proportionally shorter than at 48kHz). Operation at 44.1kHz is supported, although delay and decay times are all about 10% greater than at the nominal sampling rate of 48kHz.
Does the SST-206 sound exactly like the original Space Station SST-282?
Yes, although some users have said it's "a little cleaner." Every effort was made to achieve the same sound (truncating 24 bit data to 11 bit floating point, adding low level quantizing noise, filtering the audio with a sharp cutoff 7kHz low pass filter, etc.). All the analog EQ curves and the digital time delay factors are closely replicated and, of course, the algorithm is the same. About the only factor I can think of that isn't copied is the actual sampling rate (which was 16kHz), so there may be a little more aliasing distortion in the original SST-282. Both units were designed by Christopher Moore, and reference was made to actual samples and original design notes during the design of the SST-206.
Does it really all fit into the small hand-held unit shown?
Yes. Only a small in-line power supply and the two digital I/O connectors are external, and they are at the end of a 12 foot breakout cable.
Does it have MIDI? user preset memory?
No. Omitting them was a deliberate design choice to keep the product simpler to use (and to design...). The user interface is transparent--the knob settings you see are what you get. Think of it in terms of a Pultec equalizer or a UREI compressor/limiter. The Space Station SST-206 is a tactile, hands-on product.
URSAMAJOR SST206 Review
Seven Woods Audio Ursa Major Space Station SST-206
By Larry the O
Electronic Musician, Feb 1, 2004
Seven Woods Audio's original Ursa Major Space Station SST-282 from the late 1970s was a multitap delay-based echo, ambience, and reverb device. Its newest incarnation, the SST-206 ($1,395), uses a Motorola DSP56311 chip to faithfully re-create all of the earlier Space Station algorithms (and key front-panel controls), and it adds a new Room algorithm that is completely different from the other Space Station programs.
At first glance, the SST-206 is quite a surprise: what appears to be a nicely designed wood-sided remote control unit turns out to be the entire device! At 5 inches wide and 6.5 inches long, the diminutive SST-206 takes up less space than a paperback novel.
A single cable carries the power line along with the AES/EBU digital audio I/O; there's no analog I/O and no power switch. If your AES/EBU and AC connections are in opposite directions, the cable fan-out may not be enough; it was barely adequate in my studio. The SST-206's only displays are sets of LEDs that indicate the selected operating mode, audition delay pattern, and input level. Nothing else is needed because there are no presets, and the unit does not offer MIDI, footpedal, or other controller inputs.
There are, however, plenty of knobs, and they mostly conform to the functions and even the color coding of the original Space Station. In some cases, though, the knobs are redefined for use with the Room program.
Inner Space
The Space Station architecture is based on the clever use of 24 delay taps: 15 are time modulated and are used to generate the reverb, 8 (the Audition Delay Taps) are arrayed in pairs and provide the algorithm's outputs, and 1 is used for echo. You can choose from 16 tap configurations for different qualities and decay ranges. When combined with the choice of SST Echo or SST Reverb mode, that yields quite a bit of variety. The front-panel controls, including four that set the relative levels of the Audition Delay Tap pairs, enable even further contouring.
The SST-206's specifications are somewhat unusual. The unit is designed to operate at 48 kHz and also supports 44.1 kHz. It can, however, work at rates varying from 32 to 96 kHz with a few caveats: in the original Space Station algorithms, the delay times are scaled proportionally to the sampling rate. (In other words, you get longer times at 44.1 and 32 kHz, and shorter times at 88.2 or 96 kHz.) The new Room program, which works the DSP chip much harder than the old algorithms, doesn't function at 88.2 or 96 kHz sampling rates.
The dry signal is always passed to the outputs as a full-bandwidth, 24-bit stereo signal; but the original algorithms sum the inputs before processing, have no more than 7 kHz bandwidth, and exhibit what amounts to 14-bit resolution. The Room algorithm, on the other hand, provides full-bandwidth 24-bit stereo processing.
The operating manual contains some useful information on how to best use the SST-206. It lacks other basic material, however, such as a front-panel graphic with labels and descriptions for the knobs and a block diagram showing the architecture of the algorithms. Those would help clarify the controls and parameters quite a bit.
More Space
My favorite use for the old SST-282 was always on guitar and vocal tracks, and I found the same to be true with the new SST-206. Although it's excellent for many other uses, I prefer using the Space Station to make a lead guitar sound big or to put space around a voice without losing it in the mix. The SST-206 is still not my first choice for snare or kick drum, but I enjoyed it as an overall room ambience. In fact, I received wonderful results when I took a stereo room track from a drum session, compressed the heck out of it, and ran the track through the Space Station. That yielded a much enhanced feeling of envelopment.
The Space Station is a remarkably versatile unit with a flavor that you won't hear in other multitap delays. Even without fully understanding how to exploit its subtleties, you'll find many readily available effects. And once you grasp the architecture, you can easily create many more.
Fans of the old SST-282 will no doubt be delighted to see it reappear as a compact unit that also includes the new Room program. The SST-206 is a bit pricey, but the main reason for the resurgence of vintage processors is that they offer character, and that's the Space Station's strongest suit.
Ursa Major (Seven Woods) SST206 Reverb 
