Moving to the midrange and woofer in the Montan VIII, we find what look like typical cone drivers; however, the diaphragm cones are made of a proprietary material called ALTIMA. This name provides a hint to the composition. ALTIMA in fact is a very light metal alloy comprised of ALuminum, TItanium and MAgnesium, hence its name........  


.....The second noteworthy design feature of the Montan is its woofer placement. Here, Aurum has not mounted the Montan’s ALTIMA 10.2” woofer in traditional manner, i.e. on the front baffle. Nor has it been placed on the top, bottom or side. Rather, Aurum has done something quite unique with their woofer in the Montan; something I haven’t experienced with any home audio loudspeaker. Aurum has placed the Montan’s woofer on a diagonal slant, within an alcove that is open to the front of the speaker via a rectangular breach in the front baffle. This opening is tastefully screened with rubberized removable cords, which run top-to-bottom. Somewhat concealed in the shadow behind these cords and surrounded by the black finished walls of the alcove, the woofer’s bright ALTIMA face can be found. This woofer sits only about an inch behind the baffle on one side but just short of 8” deep on the other. The added complexity of this design is not for aesthetic purposes but actually for engineering reasons. It turns out that by mounting the woofer in this manner, the space to the back of the woofer diaphragm can operate in a bass reflex manner, while the space within the alcove in front of the face of the woofer, can serve as a pressure chamber. This hybrid, bass reflex / pressure chamber arrangement is meant to provide greater bass extension, while ensuring higher-control and precision in bass production.