Explorer

Your candidates are good choices, and I have them all except the T10. I listen to all kinds of music myself. Pure is the only one I rarely use - if I feel for warm and smooth sound, I'd rather grab the Explorer. Defiant is more "entertaining" and less comfortable for me. HEXA is a true all-rounder. I would have a hard time choosing as I love them all, but Explorer is probably my favorite, and also the one you will be able to EQ the most.

Warm and bassy? I’m loving the Aful Explorer. Not a true basehead iem, but warm, smooth and relaxing

I have the Defiant, Explorer, and Hexa. I don’t EQ which is why I chose these 3 different sets, so I can’t speak as to how each responds to that. Hard to pic a favorite, as they are all great, but I’d say Explorer is a safe bet because they are comfortable, and although relaxed, still give great detail in the treble. The Hexa are too polarizing, you either love them or hate them because they’re “boring.” Defiant sound amazing as a mild V-shape set, but they do have QC issues, so if you go that route, make sure you order from a place with a good return policy (I can attest for Hifigo for this, as my left driver had flex and they replaced them). Hope this helps

Not sure your gonna smell sounds, as that’s synesthesia, a neurological condition. But as someone who recently joined this hobby coming from APP2, the juice is definitely worth the squeeze for me. I am currently using the Truthear Hexa, Aful Explorer, Juzear Defiant (and the requisite hype train Kunten) along with the Black Pearl. I can confidently say that these iems with the proper setup blow the AirPods out of the water (for me). I still use them for calls and exercise, but the sound quality is far inferior to my iems.

The Explorer and Kunten are very different, but I much prefer the Explorer. Kunten are V shaped, and sound good for the price, but can’t compare to the Explorer. The Explorer are more L shaped, darker sounding with more relaxed treble, and scale very well. At higher volumes, they sound amazing (they sound good at lower volumes too) and although the treble is relaxed, it’s still quite detailed. I use them when I want a more relaxed session.

'without too harsh highs' definitely not, they're a bright set i'd consider aful explorer actually for a hybrid option

i'd look into the aful explorer, quite similar but they'll be more smooth in the treble

aful explorer - for a warm *smooth* listen mp143 - warm but more detailed listen

What would you say the upper mids/treble is like on the Luna? I’ve got the Aful explorers and I like the overall warmth of the set, but I want something with better detail on the upper minds/treble. I listen to a lot of breakcore and the Explorers feel sort of low res in that region

I second this. I also have the m21 and using the aful explorer with them. Really enjoying them and the stock 4.4mm cable is nice. Ordered some divinus phantom tips to try out but haven't tried all the stock tips (you get 9 sets in total). Also been using the HD 650 cans with it and they sound amazing too.