Thanks for the encouragement. As you know from the thoroughness of your research, numbers can take you only so far. In the end, comfort and sound experience is going to be very subjective and personal. Pre-Covid I travelled a lot for work, 30 trips a year, often for up to 15 hours at a time. So earphones were a big part of that ever since 2000. I would keep a pair until i broke it. I found the versions to be more iterative than revolutionary so the specifics didnt matter. All of them made my ears feel warm and hence not terribly comfortable. All of them had so so sound quality compared to my wired cans or surround sound systems. But all of them were reasonable with noise cancellation. They fit the role for use on airplanes, but only airplanes. In the last couple of years I had been using AirPods more for convenience and comfort (can walk on and off the plane with them on), but would swap over in flight for noise cancellation until the AirPod Pro..and then would only swap when i was going to sleep (didnt trust the AirPods to stay in my ear). I share all that so you know where i am coming from. Convenience and noise cancellation.
The MX4 was the best of that genre, but never used them off the plane. They just didnt give me the convenient experience or sound quality i wanted.
To your specific questions:
1) I have only worn the Max for 4 hours. In that time my ears never felt warm or pressured, so that was better than the MX4. But they were heavy obviously and if i focused on it, i would be aware of that weight. Most of the time the sound quality held my attention tbough. So in this short trial, comfort wise, those things balance out for me. So your instincts were right. I dont think people will buy the Max solely for comfort. It certainly was not twice as comfortable per se than the MX4.
2) Call quality, hands down, I will be using the Max on conference calls, but did not use the MX4 because sound and convenience wise they didnt measure up compared to my AirPod Pros. I tested the Max on a couple of calls before risking them on a conference call today. The worked automatically, noise cancellation improved my listening experience, and likewise, people on the other hand said i came in tack sharp. Overall better than the AirPod Pros, which worked well for me. So yeah, noticeable difference for me compared to the MX4.
3) Packing. Yep, I have concerns. But then again I wouldnt carry my MX4 sans case. I need to get a travel case for the Max And have no doubt the marketplace will come up with one. In the meantime, my overhead bag (eBag Pro Slim Laptop professional) has a separate pocket up front that I will put only the Max in (with its scratch resistant case). I dont worry about crushing it per se, but i would not want to test pushing something on the mesh at the top. Just like i dont put keys in my pocket with my phone. I take precautions naturally with my gear. Clearly this is not ideal, but I weigh the negatives against the positives and in this case have decided to travel with the Max, mostly because of the sound quality. Blows me away. But the convenience of connecting with my devices plays a big part too.