ZMF Ori 3

In 2015 I took a humble T50RP and turned it into the Omni, then begrudgingly it was renamed the Ori. A decade later we’re back at the beginning with our own driver, our own tech, and a headphone that’s ZMF from the inside out.

Ori 3.0 is the proprietary modern take on a closed-back planar with macrodynamic slam, liquid mids, and airy, effortless treble—now powered by ZMF’s latest CAMS magnet system, ADS damping, and Caldera earpads.

Machined in our state-of-the-art headphone CNC shop in Collinsville, IL from Torrefied Black Limba and hand assembled just outside of Chicago in Berwyn, IL.

The result is fast, full-bodied, and unmistakably ZMF.

In 2015 I took a humble Fostex T50RP Mk II, carved out its soul, and christened the result the Omni. As a C&D loomed, Head-Fi voted on a new name, Omni turned into Ori, and the rest is forum folklore. Ten years (and lots of coffee and sawdust) later, I’ve refactored that original idea with everything we’ve learned from Caldera, Atrium and the rest of the ZMF lineage.

Meet Ori 3.0—a closed‑back planar that marries the macrodynamic wallop of the first Ori with modern ZMF tech: CAMS magnets, ADS damping, Caldera pads and a lightweight, kiln‑roasted/torrefied Black Limba cup that looks as lively as it sounds.

Ori 3.0 hits like the original but scales like a modern planar: thunderous sub‑bass, liquid midrange, and an airy, effortless treble. Swap pads and experiment with the two sets of ported/solid tuning pegs and you’ve got wide range of tuning possibilities—from vintage warmth to neutral‑plus zest—all without touching an EQ.

Ori 3.0 is 60 Ω / 95 dB/mW and scales with clean current. It sings from good dongles and DAPs, but a quality desktop amp (solid-state Class A or a well-matched transformer-coupled tube) will open dynamics and staging.

As always, synergy rules—trust your ears.

Heat-treating Black Limba boosts the stiffness-to-weight ratio and stabilizes the cup. That means faster transients, perfect decay, and wood that ages beautifully. Each set is unique—grain, chatoyance and hue will vary.

That’s the magic of real wood.