pianoteq 6 sounds worst than advertised, what do I need to adjust?

Mmmm very strange, I think you could download midi files and playback them with Pianoteq, to see if there is a difference...
I don't think the problem are the headphones/sound card/whatever, since I suppose you listen to demos using all the same hardware.
By the way original MIDI files are avaiable on piano e competition website.

Are your headphones just plugged into your computer? My Scarlett interface makes a great difference with headphones.

How does the demo track sound?  (Hit the play icon in the upper left of the Pianoteq screen). 

If it sounds the same then it isn't to do with your keyboard or velocity, I'd think.

Hope that helps (from a newbie).

steve200

Ok,

Sorry if you already know these things (I don't know what is your level with electronic keyboards and virtual instruments)...

You may have a velocity curve problem, or a keyboard sensitivity problem.

Try the first sound on Pianoteq, the Steinway D Prelude. It sounds very good.

Look at the velocities window on Pianoteq (only look, the sound is not important now), and play.
On a "normal" setting, you should be able to play pp to ppp notes but only with a great attention when you play very soft, and ff to fff notes only when you play very hard, without breaking your keyboard... But you should be able to play all the range of velocities from 0 to 127. Otherwise, that doesn't make any sense.

Is that the case?

If not, try to adjust the keyboard sensitivity first, and try again. The P255 has only 3 levels of sensitivity, so the best choice to begin is probably the medium level. But test which one is better for you to cover all the velocity range.

Then, only when you have a good sensitivity setting, adjust the velocity curve manually to your taste by hearing the sound coming from Pianoteq.

You can also try to use the calibration function of Pianoteq. That can help you to find which direction to take.

  I noticed a big difference.. straight into 2017 iMac27 =ok...headphones into a Scarlett interface = darn good!

Keyboard issues aside, Pianoteq, and any other computer-based virtual instrument, is only as good as the digital-to-analog audio interface, amplifier and speakers (or headphones or earbuds) that you use to listen to it through. Most brands of laptop computer that run Windows have very poor-quality, inferior audio playback hardware (sound card) built-in. (You haven't mentioned what make and model of laptop computer you are using.) So getting a professional external audio interface and better-quality powered speakers or headphones or earbuds would probably make a huge difference. While you are at it, consider that Pianoteq, as it recreates the full audio range of a grand piano, requires the sound reproduction of good strong clear bass frequencies, and many desktop speakers designed for use with computers don't put out a flat, clear frequency response down into the lowest bass frequencies.

These factors are what many new customers fail to take into account when they purchase Pianoteq as their first computer-based virtual instrument. Pianoteq produces amazingly good acoustic piano sound, but in order for you to actually hear it, you need to spend additional money on several components: a professional audio interface, amplifier and speakers to get the benefit from this.

On the other hand, if you purchase a home digital piano, you get everything in one package: the electronic piano sound source, the keyboard action, the audio interface, the amplifier, and the speakers, all in a cabinet and with pedals. You don't even think about the components; you just turn it on and start playing and everything is already assembled and calibrated and working optimally.

Pianoteq is quite rewarding if you are willing to acquire and assemble all the additional components (and having a good keyboard controller and calibrating its velocity response is crucial too) but you have to be the kind of person who does not mind working with all those different parts of the signal chain. For many people, buying a home digital piano would be best for them. But those kinds of people, generally, wouldn't be the kind of people to try Pianoteq anyway.