Defiant

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.

Juzear Defiant are excellent for the price if you like a mild V shaped tubing. Beware though, they have a history of QC issues so best to get from a vendor you can easily exchange. I ordered mine from Hifigo’s Amazon store and the left driver has significant driver flex, which is likely due to the well documented venting issue. In the process of contacting the vendor. Haven’t heard back and it’s been a few days. But ultimately, I can return them to Amazon and repurchase.

I have the Juzear Defiant as well, just received and it’s great for EDM. However, the QC sucks, my left driver has significant driver flex, assuming it’s due to the well documented venting issues. I contacted Hifigo, awaiting a response.

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.

planar usually have that wow factor when people listen to them, kiwi ears aether would be a nice choice otherwise juzear defiant are also very good i'd probably stay away from supermix for your genres as male vocals are not great on them + lack of midbass for stuff like rock, funk where the above sets would generally suit those much better

juzear defiant is a funner but also smooth set

SGOR Luna is worth a consideration. Can be had for well under US$30 easily as of late and is a very noticeable step up compared to the Chu, Zero2 class of $20 earphones in terms of technical performance. Non fatiguing sound sig as well IMO, but ymmv with that FWIW, owning both, I prefer the SGOR Luna to the Juzear Defiant which costs 3x as much (better punch, resolution, speed) Another in that category worth considering, if they've never made any further modifications to it, is the KZ PRX, which can easily be had for well under US$25

The Luna is a good first IEM choice IMO. I've added another layer of metal filter over the wire mesh filter on mine to mod the sound a tiny bit, lessens the energy of sibilance it may have so I can now wear it for hours on end without experiencing any fatigue Got the Luna for a little less than 27usd a while ago, it definitely outperforms the likes of the Moondrop Chu (Harsh), Salnotes Zero (Okayish, less harsh) on a technical level by a long shot to my ears, and outcompetes the original Truthear Zero (Too much energy) and Zero:Red (Boring, but I like boring) on that front as well, and even the Juzear Defiant (Pleasant, easy listen, but very low res) IMO A slight upgrade over the KZ PR2 as well in terms of budget Planar IEMs, while costing almost half the price of what I paid for the PR2s a few years back It's a winner for the price in my books, punches well above its weight class, especially when discounted, by which it becomes a no-brainer recommendation from me for dipping ones toes into Planar IEMs It sits in my rotation alongside the PR2 (Foam + Filter modded), Zero:Red, Hexa (filters removed + Foam modded), Dioko (paper filter removed + foam modded, Filter replacement due) and the Defiant depending on my mood https://preview.redd.it/24s8hdn4173g1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e97df5c55b0c4a89e2bf1e78043564234052f954 Top row: TE Zero:Red (Divinus Velvet Wide), TE Zero (Divinus Velvet), JE Defiant (Divinus Velvet Wide then, Sedna Earfit Light long stem currently) Middle row: 7Hz Zero (Sedna Earfit Light short stem) Bottom row: Moondrop Chu 1 (Spinfit CP100, removable cable mod), SGOR Luna (KBear Coffee Tips), KZ PR2 (KBear Coffee Tips)

I have a standard H4, and I enjoy the Artti T10, JUZEAR x Z Reviews Defiant (highly recommend), and Truthear Hexa. They're all distinct in their own ways, and wonderful to explore music with paired to the H4.

I’d say add $10, get the juzear defiant (it gets to 80 on sale) and just plug straight into your phone.. I have tried lots of much more expensive IEMs with other sources and the defiant is still up there in performance IMO and super comfortable

Hey just fyi the defiant went on sale today for $79.99 on Amazon prime

I have most of those iems and if I had to give a recommendation based on your list I would definitely go with the Defiants or the simgot EW300, I listen to metal and rock and many other genres and those along with the GK Kunten have been a lot of fun to listen to.

I have not experienced any qc issues at all with the defiants, they have actually been very stable and sound amazing, I’ve had them since Christmas. Yea there are differences between the two the 300 sounds a bit more v tuned and the defiants are neutral leaning. I do not use any eqing. To my ears the 300 has a bit wider soundstage as well.