My first foray into a high end audio store introduced me to GoldenEar speakers and Parasound electronics. It sounded great and introduced me to 3D soundstaging. The second audio store the salesman pushed for a budget, so when I reluctantly gave him some number he tried selling me a meh sounding system. Although I complained to management, I lost trust in audio dealers. So until very lately (I finally found a dealer I can trust), I did my own research online, audio magazines, audio stores, and audio conventions.
Audiophile tweaks are a personal choice - some avoid them while some embrace them. Some work, some not so much. The salesman was likely trying to steer you into a sale for his benefit which is not an unusual motivation. It's not wise to automatically trust a salesman.
This is a high-end audio forum. It's a head scratcher that you go on this forum saying that
i get premium sound quality with my earbuds and smartphone
which is not high-end at all. If you are satisfied with the sound quality then your done and can save on spending for a system. But as most of us here know, there is much better sonics to be had for a price. Some may chase a "fool you it's real sound', while others may favor tube warmth midrange magic. Your settling for earbuds/smartphone leads me to believe you haven't heard many great sounding audio chains.
Being in love has nothing to do with shared interest, especially when it comes to hobbies. From many forum comments, seems like most spouses "tolerate" our hobby rather than support/participate in it.