ZMF Caldera Closed LTD Koa

ZMF is definitely probably the coolest headphone brand that exists. The founder used to make guitars and banjos for himself with rare and exotic woods, which made him curious if the different types of sound produced by various wood types translated to headphones. It did. The rule of thumb is harder woods like an African Blackwood produce tighter bass and less decay (reverb) and softer woods like buckeye burl enhance warmth and timbre (naturalness).

Including the Caldera, ZMF makes a few headphones using planar magnetic drivers, which offer a more neutral and technical sound, and dynamic drivers that sound more natural yet less revealing.

The caldera closed is a good example of getting the balance just right. Since it’s a closed-back headphone, you can show off whatever cool wood you get with it. ZMF will drop batches of rare and stabilized wood-cupped from time to time but usually offer some limited versions like this one with cool, special woods that they have more stock of than rare drops but less than stock wood.