>audiophilia is fundamentally just dressed-up consumerism<

This. Very well put.

I have put lots of extra money on top of getting nice headphones into gear like DAC/amp, partly because people said it would make a huge difference.... And it makes a difference, but rarely worth the money, and never anything close to what people say when they are gushing over the skiing of some new or different gear.

Be smart with your hard earned money, Buy some decent headphones in your desired budget, and enjoy your music collection.