The Airpods Max is more comparable to something like Sony WH-1000XM4, Bose 700, or B&O Beoplay H9. You can't really compare wired openback headphones to headphones that are meant to be worn in public on the go. However, even among the wireless headphones with active noise canceling, the Airpods Max are more expensive than their competition. The closest in terms of features and price is the Beoplay H9 and that is $50-100 cheaper depending on where you buy it. To many people the extra integration with Apple products is worth paying the difference. For other people, especially those not all in on the Apple ecosystem, the cheaper competitors are a better option. However, comparing it to products in a different class is not a very good argument.
Considering how many hours per day/week most of us spend with our headphones and how many years they last, I think the price difference is marginal over its lifespan.
My Bose QC35s are almost 4 years old. My initial thought was to upgrade to the Bose 700 ($340), but the Airpods Max are $210 more expensive. If I assume 3 years before my next upgrade, this equates to $6 more per month.
The in-ear segment was a slam dunk for the AirPods Pro - no exciting options competing there (Sennheiser's True Wireless were a huge disappointment). In the wireless over-ear segment on the other hand, it is very competitive and there are great options. The H1 chip isn't that much of a leg up, compared to how well Sony, Bose and the others handle connectivity to multiple devices. It'll boil down to the basics for me: audio quality and noise cancellation - if Apple can nail those, the price increase would be worth it in my book.
