Why do they always play so loud in hifi showrooms?

Well, they ain´t fooling no one telling me that they have to play it that loud so you won´t be bothered by other demoes in nearby rooms. We´re not there for critical listening, just getting an impression of new stuff ( in shows ).
And most of the time you do check all the rooms anyway.

It seems to be a contest; Look how loud I can play this amp just below clipping! And these membranes can really take some beating and still remain attached to the cabinet - right?

What are they thinking?

interesting . . . but in my experience (which is actually limited) with my local hi end audio store, they don't usually turn it up loud enough. I invariably have to ask them for more volume.

There is a high end store near my house that I had respect for until one day.

I was in there one weekend about seven or eight years ago just browsing with a friend when we heard this "Babooom Boooomm!" coming from their newly built home theater room. We walked in to see what all the shaking and exploding was about to find they were showing off an expensive DTS set up on which the movie "Twister" was blasting away.

It's not so much that this high end AUDIO store had added a home theater room that disappointed me. It was that they had one of those Sunfire True Subwoofers just blasting and major league distorting like a mofo. It sounded terrible. They obviously had the LFE cranked way too high. The driver was bottoming out and flapping like Godzilla farting, and the salesman smiled at us and said, "isn't it great?" I remember thinking, "yeah if you think the sound of mechanical parts ramming into each other during each cone excursion is a good thing, sure."

it may get you in the room, but, most of the time, it won't keep you there...

I dont know why,but I can relate.Few years ago when I was at CES I attempted to check out the MBL room,I heard the music from outside and liked the song and wanted to go see what the artist was so I could get a copy and I couldnt get past the doorway.

1. They play it so loud to get your attention coming to the room !

2. Also, they don't let the other rooms sound louder.

It is a well-established fact that, for most people most of the time, louder sounds better. Apparently, the people doing demos have misinterpreted this fact to mean, "Much louder sounds much better."