This conjures up a quote from one of the greatest movies of all time from the great Burt Reynolds, who has unfortunately passed away.

Sally Fields was asking if he knew who these various singers were, he didn't and he told her some names and asked if she knew them, she didn't.

Then he said; "When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the country you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.” Burt Reynolds - Bandit.

While this may not apply exactly to what you are saying I would add that if you are given the opportunity to travel, see other places, meet other people, you are going to be exposed to a lot more. Being exposed to all of that is going to provide you experiences and that can give you that world traveled global intelligence. 

If you live you whole life in one place and never travel you are never going to experience any of that and won't gain from that knowledge.

And if it matters I would say that yes my esoteric tastes in audio translates into other areas in my life.

since my wife and I each own a Hyundai, I would say......NO.

Art glass and pottery.

@flrun 

How 100% true. Some of my wife's family has never been out of the State they live in, a few have barely traveled outside of the town they were born in. Yet they KNOW that certain people are ALL criminals, drug addicts or just plain heathens. They refuse to believe that anything in this country is not perfect or that any other country, or even State, could be doing it better. They refuse to even try to get to know someone of a different ethic, religion, educational level (the Elites!) or sexual orientation, or even watch a show or read a book that doesn't say what they think. And they are always 100% right based on nothing but their own opinion.

Anyway, back to the OP, I would not call it esoteric tastes, I learned that it's better to buy quality once then poor quality two or three times. It even works with shoes, much less cars or audio equipment.

With you, roxy. American art pottery, antique and new.

Wine though it’s  also my career.

Sculpture, my own art creations, car audio (although to a relatively minimal degree), fine Japanese incense

Great question. For me absolutely. “Do or do not” could be my motto from long before Star Wars.

I get great satisfaction in learning and honing… experiencing something: wine, bicycling, literature, music/audio, outdoor gear, photography. Fifty years ago while on college I would save up all month to buy a bottle of Bordeaux.. and spend a whole night savering it with a friend. I have ridden well over 100,000 miles on my 4 custom made bicycles, took well over 120,000 photos all over the world with my top of the line Leica, Nikon, and Fujipro cameras. Backpacked all over the country with my carefully chosen, an light weight sleeping bags, backpacks, and other outdoor gear.

Yeah, it is a personality type thing… and if I get into it… the outcome is completely predictable… you should see my wine cellar, bicycle collection, library… all completely in line with my audio system or record collection. Do or do not. I drove a cheap Datson car ($1,000) for nearly 20 years… I don’t care about cars… but a new PC every other year since ‘85.

Yes art, literature, antique firearms and well extreme sports, rock climbing and 2 runs at K2 when I was younger. Both at attempts failed but I tried.

Interesting question - I expect my investment in hobbies aren’t really unique. The ‘investment’ is greater in my hobbies now more so than 20 years ago due to my ability to save money and increase my income. 
 

So I have some nice stuff if there’s value. If I don’t then I buy accordingly. Jim Beam is  good whiskey to me. My Honda is just fine.  And I have a tux to wear to formal functions which I get the opportunity because I donate to charities through a trust I set up years ago. 
 

I think there’s something interesting about everyone when you get to know them. So my appreciation for music is much like another’s love for smoking meats.

Thanks for the thoughts on wine.  Much of the world of great audio is quite similar to the best wines.  And like much of high end audio......very small companies. 

Primitive/naive art (mainly paintings), vintage French/European advertising barware, vintage enameled cast iron cookware and between my wife and myself gobs of other stuff.

One of my favorite paintings is of a small blonde girl, wearing a tutu, standing in front of the Watts Towers.

Here's a pic (from the WWW) of the type of barware  (I have around 30 pitchers, plus glasses and shakers).

https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2020/4/21/e/c/a/eca5ffb0-5ee2-4aad-b8b2-a485b86fea1f.jpg

DeKay

OP,

Lots of similarities between wine and audio… but also cameras… particularly because they are analog to digital to analog converters. With the highly detailed sensitive eyes involved.

FYI: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdflood/albums

There is such a thing - it's called evolution ... It can go globally in society, or maybe in an individual person (it may not go - stagnation ... or even worse - degeneration).
Evolution 1 (domestic) involves the development of: science, art, health, well-being (at the same time a sense of proportion), peaceful life ...
Evolution 2 (ego, psyche, soul) involves the development of the best human qualities (conscience, kindness, selflessness, love of work, priority of the common over the personal, rejection of evil, muscles capable of turning the FM band knob to the God station).

The tragedy of humanity (one and all in particular) is super-rich people (and their groups) ... sick mutants obsessed with greed do everything to stop evolution (especially 2) and provoke degeneration processes. What for ? - animals (stupid vicious people) are easier to control and parasitize on them.

Remember the black slaves - they were forbidden to learn to read.
You are white, but they are doing the same to you! (veiled).
Therefore, those who want a better fate for themselves must make efforts.

Entry level (1) - good drinks, paintings, sculptures, cars ... - you will find it yourself - I will offer you a book, music and something else))) 

    for dessert this is - feel the difference ... this man was very popular on the BBC - turned the lives of many - woke up. 

https://rodzianko.org/english/sermons/#audio  audio 

Yes. Puffies ;-) .

With myself and my friends, experience is a factor and can be likened to knowledge.  It is easier to be "into" something I have good knowledge in, or at least it becomes more of an interest with increased exposure/knowledge....but that can be said of many interests....I guess knowledge is a factor in most things, including people. 

I often huff gasoline while I surf the internet for porn.

Lightweight. I shoot smack while I watch a hooker service me.

On an esoteric level, you are way ahead of me.  However, I believe I am getting more bang for the buck. 

Only twenty dollar hookers ;-) .

All kidding aside, my ex-brother-in-law just OD’d on heroin, found dead in MacArthur Park in L.A. (yes, it’s not a made-up name in a song, it’s a real park). He’s been an addict his entire adult life, a 3-strike guy who was in-and-out of prison, being released the last time 7-8 years ago. I’m kind of surprised he lasted this long.

Kids, just say no.

. . . Carmelita, hold me tighter, I think I'm slipping down . . .

Cars.  Porsches, BMWs, and my latest - an Audi S5 with a speedometer that goes

to 260 mph.  

@jrosemd - Impressive... My Fiat 500 speedo only goes to 160. 

@bdp24 - Great PSA! I've lost a fair share of acquaintances to it over the years. Some better than others, but hated to see any of them go regardless. 

@immatthewj - Thanks for the laugh 

Yes, for me it is food, motorcycles, scotch, and extremely fine furniture and craftsmanship, and of course music of which the highest art form in the world is jazz. 

Yes, high end wine, Art, M3 and high end foodie to name some. Seems anything I love I eventually have to try the best 

YES. 

1. Amateur astronomy. Purist telescopes with frequent upgrades & tweaks for improved performance. Incidentally, a lot of apochromatic telescope purists are also audiophiles. The philosophies are highly congruous. 

2. I have a wife that likes to upgrade herself with a lot of (tasteful) plastic surgery... and I end up losing a lot of money on that too but absolutely love it-- so worth it! 

3. I like high-end cars made for comfort and elegance, especially those made in the UK. 

4. I am fascinated by high-end anything! Its so wonderful to see the state of the art in just about any field! 

5. I enjoy science, and especially enjoy the nonsensical, as-of-yet inexplicable forefront of new learning. 

6. Purist organic and live soil grown foods. Food tastes better when it is as nature intended it! Factory processing is not as good! A lot of audiophile similarities there too. 

Great topic! I've enjoyed reading other audiophile's answers!

Movies. I consider myself to be a movie buff and have a huge collection of movies on Blu-Ray and DVD. I love art house, foreign films, cult films, and film noir. Lots of Criterion titles.

I've been described as gravitating somewhere "b/w the fringe and the fringe or the fringe" in my interests and work (OCD goes with the territory in Medicine ).  In bicycling, I've done more Centuries than I can keep track of, did Paris-Brest-Paris on a Seven with a Brooks saddle and downtube shifters. I've been a Leica user since my twenties and use both film and analog M's. I have a good collection of hand and power wood tools and have done all the flooring, cabinetry, tables, bookshelves (with lots of books BTW), picture frames, and some of the furniture and windows in our home- see my virtual system posts.

Swords, scotch, and steaks.