Agreed, the Shoei is a premium lid. I found the Schuberth to be very disappointing in comparison, especially as they were at least the same price. It was the fit for me that made the difference as i'm right between a large and an XL in a Shoei. I've tried in the past to use the various cheek pads and different liners but they all seem to settle too much after a few months and it feels too loose. I looked at a Shark flip front lid that was very comfortable, but weighed at ton...
The HJC is a perfect fit, 1600g and very quiet. The visor and flip mechanisms are both very good and the drop down visor is perfect with no annoying 'light gap' at the bottom. It'll be interesting to see how quiet the Shoei is as it's supposed to be one of the quieter ones. Mind you, so are the Schuberth and I tried a C3 a few years ago and was incredibly disappointed with it from both a noise point of view and a visor & flip front operation point of view.
It's a shame you can't 'try before you buy' to make sure it's the right lid for you as they are quite an investment.
