The Ursa Major StarGate 323 was developed as a continuation of Ursa Major’s earlier digital reverberation designs, following the Space Station and the 8X32. While sharing core design concepts with those units, the Ursa Major StarGate 323 was positioned as a more accessible solution, combining a lighter physical format with a refined control layout and a streamlined algorithmic structure. Despite its reduced size, the unit retained a high level of flexibility and operational depth, making it suitable for cost-conscious professional environments.
The Ursa Major StarGate 323 employed a single, highly adaptable digital reverb algorithm derived through extensive computer modelling and auditioning. Rather than offering numerous unrelated algorithms, the system used a consistent core structure with parameters adjusted to create eight distinct acoustic environments. These were presented as selectable ‘rooms’, each with its own early reflection patterns, diffusion behaviour and decay characteristics. As programme numbers increased, diffusion slowed, colouration was reduced, spatial impression increased, and intelligibility decreased, reflecting the expected behaviour of progressively larger acoustic spaces.
Control access was deliberately clear and direct. The front panel layout prioritised rapid adjustment, with rotary controls for decay time, pre-delay, low-frequency decay and high-frequency decay, alongside independent direct and reverb mix controls. Input level was monitored via an 8-segment LED peak meter designed to capture short transient peaks and display signal level within the digital domain. Visual feedback for room selection and decay time was provided by numeric LED displays, ensuring settings were unambiguous even in demanding studio conditions.
Decay time was selectable in eight steps, ranging from early-reflection-only operation through to long reverberation tails extending up to 10 seconds depending on the selected room programme. Pre-delay was adjustable in 16 discrete steps up to 320 milliseconds, allowing precise separation of the dry signal from the onset of reverberation. Each room programme also imposed its own maximum decay length, increasing progressively with programme number to reflect the behaviour of larger spaces.
The Ursa Major StarGate 323 incorporated high-pass and low-pass decay shaping rather than simple equalisation, enabling control over how low and high frequencies decayed within the reverberant field. This approach allowed unwanted bass build-up to be reduced and high-frequency decay to be tailored without affecting the direct signal path. These controls were particularly useful when working with larger room settings, where excessive low-frequency energy could otherwise cause reverberant masking.
Additional operational flexibility was provided through three special functions, activated via pushbuttons or optional footswitch control. Input mute disabled signal entry to the processor, dry only bypassed the reverb path while retaining signal routing, and reverb clear forced the decay time to zero, producing early reflections only. The reverb clear function allowed rapid access to percussive and spatial effects without requiring manual adjustment of decay controls.
Although the Ursa Major StarGate 323 featured stereo outputs, the reverb input path itself was summed internally, following the design approach used in earlier Ursa Major units. This configuration simplified internal processing while maintaining a stereo output image. True stereo input reverberation was typically associated with higher-priced systems at the time and was not a target for this design.
The unit was housed in a standard 2U rackmount chassis and designed for straightforward integration into professional studio signal chains. Balanced differential inputs and outputs were provided via XLR connectors, and power operation supported both 115 V and 230 V mains systems. The overall design prioritised reliability, ease of use and practical flexibility, aligning the Ursa Major StarGate 323 with the needs of smaller studios seeking advanced digital ambience without the cost or complexity of flagship reverberation systems.
Features
- Eight selectable reverb programmes representing different acoustic spaces
- Adjustable decay time in eight steps
- Rotary pre-delay with 16 values
- Low-frequency and high-frequency decay controls for tone shaping
- Direct and reverb mix level controls
- Special functions including input mute, dry only and reverb clear
- Stereo outputs with balanced differential connections
- Optional footswitch control for special functions
