Should I trust movers with my equipment?

For your sake, ignore the responses that tell you that all will be well if you entrust your equipment to movers. It simply isn’t true. Movers typically repack their truck with freight from multiple homes. They can even disassemble furniture to facilitate maximizing space. This is particularly true of long distance moves.

I speak from experience. We just moved 700 miles, only to find that some of our most valuable items didn’t arrive at our new home. We filed a claim for $4K, and received $165 from insurance. That didn’t include the damage to our antique furniture. In any case, my strong advice would be to load all valuables into your car or a rented truck. Don’t, under any circumstances, trust it to movers.

Let the movers take care of everything else. I would seriously consider packing your stereo gear into the car (or truck) and driving there myself. Consider this: once something is damaged (or disappears), it's too late!