Pianoteq is very impressive. It doesn't sound quite as good as a real piano 'live' but it sounds better than most real pianos when recorded.
I have another interesting setup at home that I'll do a blog post on one of these days that works extremely well with Pianoteq and other virtual pianos, costs peanuts and gives you some amazing capabilities. Stay tuned! (pun intended ;) ).
Pianoteq models pianos very accurately, but in my opinion, it doesn't reproduce the effect of using the best condenser mics and the talent of pro audio engineers.
Top-of-the-line sampled piano VSTs may lack the dynamic range and versatility of Pianoteq, or its ability to reproduce sympathetic resonance and partial pedaling, but they at least capture not only a great piano but also the added effect of pro mics mixed/recorded by pros in a pro studio.
It's a matter of time, really. They are doing some pretty impressive modeling there sooner or later the difference between that and reality will be on the level of gold-plated plugs for your stereo.
I have another interesting setup at home that I'll do a blog post on one of these days that works extremely well with Pianoteq and other virtual pianos, costs peanuts and gives you some amazing capabilities. Stay tuned! (pun intended ;) ).