Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts aren't necessarily into speed typing which would be a more apt comparison to the optimizations you listed (minus audiophile). I have always thought of them as being more similar to people who develop a palate for fine wine: the goal is to be haughty and say that you can't stand anything that cost less than $400.

I caught myself going down the mechanical keyboard path and settled on a Kinesis Freestyle Pro before I got in too deep. I have modified the layout just enough that it difficult for me to sit down and use any other keyboard. That probably counts as a success.