Moving Soon - Should I Pack Up Everything Now??

I left my system standing while our last house was on the market. The horns needed to be custom crated--and the crates would not have fit through the door of the room. And where was I going to stash all the gear and records- at the time I had around 17k LPs-- I wasn't going to put that stuff in the basement despite dehumidification systems (and the horn crates would not fit through the basement door either). 

I just told the realtor--make sure nobody touches the tubes or any gear. When I told him some of the prices, he blanched, but got the message.

The presence of the system did not, in my view, affect salability. 

Once we went to contract, everything got packed, home theatre-- two 6 foot racks--were stripped of gear and disassembled, carpeted areas replaced, holes patched and painted. And we did it in whirlwind fashion. I packed the records myself, and supervised the packing of some of the heavier gear. Some was sent off to be checked by manufacturer before being put into a controlled storage facility (like they use for art).  It was pretty exhausting but we delivered better than "broom clean" to the buyer and in a fairly collapsed time frame. 

OP, this is really a question for your Realtor as it is their business to ensure your house shows well and sells quickly, at or above your asking price. I'm betting the photographer was their idea. I wouldn't be surprised if that photographer has instructions from the Realtor to shoot around your gear. 

As for playing music for your prospective buyers, what if they don't share your tastes in music? Ask your Realtor.

Personally, out of all the things you need to do to get your house ready to show such as painting, cleaning, decluttering, repairs, landscaping, etc. playing music for the buyers wouldn't make my list.

Good luck with the sale of your house!

A HiFi set up to many is a detractor, think of all the WAF Appeal talk on forums.

Think of all the relationships where one of the individuals has been acclimatised to something they are not really in acceptance off.

To many a HiFi System is intrusive and a use of space that has a ugliness, it is much preferred if concealed to some degree.

You want all who view your property to fall for it with an immediacy, anything that is not able to encourage this response needs to recognised for how it can impact on individuals being asked to take on a investment and possibly dept on your property.

Keeping the HiFi in use, might be the best option to keep you listening to the system in your present property for an extended period.

Packing the HiFi System away, might prove to be the best method to get to the place where the system is being used as described in a New Property.

There are plenty of ways to have a musical encounter without access to a readily available HiFi System.  

I’m sorry if I sound cynical. I see so much brazen crime,I would be on the look out for bad people showing up for an open house. I live in a relatively small city, and crime is pretty out of control. Shopping carts being loaded up and taken out of the store is becoming a common sight. We have had over 3000 cars stolen this year,many in broad daylight. If it were me,I’d have the agent photograph a room, move the gear into that room, then photograph your audio room, and move the gear back after. Again,I’m sorry for sounding so cynical.

Surely the intention is to sell the house.

If the OP is sensing the advertisement of their home, inclusive of certain material possessions are to be a stimulus to the types with a leaning toward being criminal, especially a Burglar.

The idea that their home being Burgled whilst on sale, is certainly a Stigma that is not wanted to be created. By law, a Burglary within a certain time frame on a property, might be a occurrence that can not be withheld and has to be declared to a potential Buyer.

Again, there are other ways to encounter music as a temporary measure, other than use a readily available Audio System.