These Three Friends Turned Their Love for Music into OMNE Audio, Msia’s First Homegrown Headphone Brand

We recently spoke with the trio behind OMNE Audio, fresh off the launch of their debut headphone, Hendeka, a product that proves you don’t need a massive budget or a high-tech lab to create something that truly resonates. All it takes is a clear vision, relentless effort, and a genuine love for music.

From passion to product

None of the trio had formal startup experience. Nabil works in digital marketing, Leong works in audio retail, and D has dabbled in various industries. But what they lacked in startup credentials, they made up for in passion.

“It started with a conversation,” Nabil recalls. “I was venting to D about how my other ventures weren’t going anywhere. Then we started talking about music, and I just said, ‘Why don’t we make headphones?’ That was it. Within 30 minutes, we had the idea, the team, and the drive.”

D had previously explored audio-related ideas, but they never materialised, until this trio came together. Leong, with a background in mechanical engineering and years of working with audio gear, was the missing piece.

“This time, it felt real,” he says. “We had the right people, the right energy.”

Built from scratch, with no strings attached

OMNE Audio was built from the ground up, self-funded, self-driven, and entirely independent. No investors and no crowdfunding. Just the three of them pooling their resources and putting in the hours after work to bring their vision to life.

“We didn’t want anyone telling us how our headphones should sound,” says Nabil. “We wanted full creative control, even if it meant stretching every ringgit.”

Balancing full-time jobs with building a product from scratch wasn’t easy. Time and budget constraints were constant challenges, but the team stayed committed through weekly check-ins and a shared belief in what they were creating.

Their debut product, Hendeka, is a genre-hopping, open-back headphone designed to make music fun again. Whether you’re into Japanese jazz, reggaeton, math rock, or girly pop, Hendeka delivers a balanced, immersive experience.

“We wanted something that lets you explore music without limits,” says Nabil. “Something that sounds good no matter what you’re into.”

Leong had dreamed of building his own headphones since 2019. The name “Hendeka”—Greek for eleven, was inspired by the unique design of the ear cups, which play with the number of vertices to create a distinct aesthetic.

The development process was intense. Ideation took a couple of months, followed by rapid prototyping using 3D printing. The team tested dozens of variations—different housing sizes, materials, driver placements, baffle openings, and earpads.

“We built the headphone around the sound we wanted,” says Leong. “Form follows function. Every design choice was made to serve the audio experience.”

D adds, “The testing phase was my favourite. We went song by song, setup by setup, until we hit that eureka moment.”

Hendeka: the headphone that plays everything

Hendeka is an open-back headphone, which means sound leaks through the cups, reducing distortion and enhancing clarity. Vocals are crisp, bass is punchy without overwhelming the mids and highs, and the headphone scales beautifully across different audio setups, from basic DACs to high-end amps.

“We’ve had people mistake it for a planar-magnetic headphone because of its snappy response,” says Leong. “That’s a huge compliment.”

The headphone is also modular, making it easy to replace parts and tweak designs during R&D. Comfort was a key focus, with earpads carefully chosen to suit different head shapes and listening preferences.

Though Hendeka has the specs to satisfy audiophiles, its real goal is to make great sound accessible to everyone.

“We’ve seen people from all tiers of audio experience tapping their feet and smiling during demos,” says D. “That’s exactly what we hoped for.”

Made in Malaysia, with pride

Designing and assembling Hendeka locally was a deliberate choice. “It’s always a dream to make something that we can be proud of,” says Leong. “To this date, we believe that we are the first headphone brand in the country that has made it to production and fruition.”

He adds, “In terms of quality, we firmly believe that we can compete with the others in terms of not only the sound quality, but design as well.”

However, one of the biggest challenges the team faced in producing the Hendeka locally was acoustic tuning, specifically, balancing diverse listener preferences while preserving the headphone’s unique sonic identity.

“An example of this consideration was understanding how the size, shape, and materials of the earpads will directly impact the output while also accommodating different shapes and sizes of ears and heads,” Leong explained.

When it came to assembly, the team focused on simplicity and modularity. “Assembly wise, we try to make the parts count to be as simple as possible to maintain modularity, allowing us to replace broken parts with a relatively quick turnaround time,” Leong continued. “An added benefit of this was also allowing us the ability to do quick changes and multiple variations on the fly for R&D purposes.”

What’s next for OMNE Audio?

With Hendeka now in the hands of listeners, OMNE Audio is taking a moment to breathe. Special editions and refinements are in the works, based on feedback from the soft launch.

And while global expansion is on the horizon, the team is taking it slow and steady. “Malaysia first,” says Nabil.

“Then Singapore, Southeast Asia, and eventually the world. It’s a 3–5 year plan, but we’re in no rush. We want to do it right.”