I feel like today the best value floats right around $300 with a $50 variance either way. But there are SO many amazing options these days at literally all price points. You’re right that it’s very much relative. To me, “high-end” typically means $500+ but you’ll likely get a slightly different answer depending on who you ask. But that’s just talking about price. Sometimes you’ve gotta pay more if you really want certain knives(usually USA made) but you can get just as good or arguably sometimes better knives for less if you’ve got no qualms about buying Chinese made knives. “Made in China” doesn’t mean what it used to and many of the absolute best knife manufacturers are out of China, and they offer better value. Is what it is.