[ Closed ] Pianoteq has some hidden overtones that aggravate my tinnitus. (Page 2 of 3)

Ah, excellent, many thanks Nathan and Key Fumbler for those fxps, I'll study them with great interest.

While we're on the subject of Pianoteq fx, I agree it would be great to have extra slots available. I also think the EQ3 section would benefit from a zoom facility - I find it quite fiddly to use (ditto for the mics window).

hey there,

it's more that the sound was fine a one/few updates ago or whenever it changed, now there are harsh ringing sounds to the Steinway which make it unpleasant to play.

Im not try to be negative here, just honest and personally its a big loss for me to switch to other programs now i cant use painoteq for the steinway.

I use EQ all the time in music but EQ is not a solution for harsh ring tones that don't need to be there in the first place.

@YvesTh - glad you enjoy the Waves NX with head tracking on It can make you feel that little more like your head motion is more realistically able to parse the sense of space. Still not 1:1 with a real piano's signal (since it's 2 virtual speakers still) but frees the mind to believe there 'is increased spatial' realism.

@theinvisibleman - I definitely understand, that's a preference I've noticed more than a few times for sure here. Would really love to know what you make of the next update - I know they've been working hard on things like the next tranche of work to flesh out the recent string vibration stuff. Certain that will go a long way to making a positive difference, beyond tonal attenuations.

@Opus32 -

Pianoteq's range is not excessive in the 10-16kHz or any other ranges.

Open a DAW, load whatever preset you want, run a metering plugin of choice, look at the data.

Inre the Alaskan gov data..

There is nothing new about high frequencies being less easy for users to discern.

It's still NOT a Pianoteq thing.

I'm not going to enjoy saying this again and again - new updates will have addressed much of the concern around the high overtone development sounding 'harsh' to some. It is evolving - and if currently it's not to your liking, try the next update.

The audio industry, since recording equipment could usefully process above 10kHz and above has referred colloquially to it as "air".

Not in reference to Pianoteq, but in reference to audio/mixing etc.. You can increase 'air' - and a kind of downward effect can be heard in overtonal structures of lower frequencies (esp. if over-running technical things to do with downsampling in the DAC by exacerbating aliasing etc.. all too boring for most readers I'm aware.). Next, after you've 'mixed' your air in to the signal to shape it, you can run a final pass through any number of processing types, where you can and indeed often will, take off much of the top end.. you end up with a similar sounding finished track/instrument/part etc.. but without the actual air. You may roll off as much as to keep it a hint.. and that's part of mixing/producing or mastering.. and it's 100% subjective down to a per-engineer level IMO. People buy pop which does that well. It's often what we do not hear which excites the brain and production tricks are skilfully making the end results 'novel' in 1000 different ways, that being just one.

I'm sure many products do that and it's probably the main reason they aren't as valuable to recordists/artists who are making their own sounds with their own inventive strategies. That's pushing the art form (music making today) forward.

That's not a problem in Pianoteq. The tiny amount of 10-16kHz is nothing compared to the measured wall of the lower frequency set.. please look for yourself at Pianoteq in your DAW and via a plugin showing frequency/spectral data etc.

In all earnestness here, it is a non issue. It seems to someone like me so preposterous the more you try to attach 'real world' things to it.

I'd recommend just stopping. Know Pianoteq will have been working hard on exactly things like overtonal development and the way inharmonic tones are resolving in the tails.. and the attack. I can tell you, I've in the past recommended shaping for attack, and to this day, will defend Pianoteq, as they always deliver great tools and extra ways WE can decide what OUR piano sound can be, without compromising physics as it relates.

If you want to ignore EQ (like they all do) - and say "It's not EQ - it's this!!!"..,. that's just wrong. EQ can remove 100% of any signal in any frequency range.

There's no way, anyone could say "it should lower air output".. because most of the sound from the main 'forces' come from the bulk of the frequencies below.. it's more than a tidal wave in difference.

You might damage your ears, if you listen too loudly to audio of any kind with a wall of 'air' and not so much lower frequencies. It's not even debatable.

You can have 100 times more "air" in any signal, then apply an EQ treble roll off - and like magic, there's no 'air'.

The product has dozens and dozens for preset FX settings you can apply with a click to alter the sounds - apply a softer EQ or make one by rolling off some treble, and you ARE losing some of the 'air' you're worried about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6WaEcv9sdw

Whatever people like to hear, is a personal choice - and Pianoteq is not too 'hot' in that range. Defaults may change with any update - and seems there's a pattern on most updates where talk seems to express how "It's brighter now".. followed by another update where there's a little chatter about how "it's softer/darker now".

Somewhere between is the line where 'most users' like it best.

Pianoteq surfs that, and keeps it real.

To say though, a brighter iteration is dangerous is wasting all our time. I honestly suggest, you also can use your time better than this Opus32.

EQ WILL KILL IT DEAD - if that's the range of frequencies you worry about - buy you shouldn't fear it, honestly.

I still say your entire thesis here is misplaced mis-diagnosed and if anything interesting but incorrect in total.

Sorry. (I wish all readers could know, I'm not talking about 'preferences' we have which can be differing, but the concept there's a "danger".)

You are talking about an "All audio in the world" thing..

You cannot stop people cranking up any frequency they like.. it's the same as "satanic panic". It's an idea (perhaps a save-the-world one or an "I want to sue Pianoteq" one)...

Regardless of basis for it, it's a ridiculous one.

I know you think "I'm smart.. it should not have happended to me" - but it did. Not Pianoteq's fault. I'm so over that.. it's disgusting you're even trying to split people here over "OH, maybe he's right.. maybe maybe.. I'm scared". 

No. You keep proposing the same thing with neither proof, nor data. What you just supplied will prove ANY audio with frequencies above a range can cause harm IF too loud - AND since that is too hard to discern by humans at that pitch, it may be that listeners may turn up their volume.

That is not a Pianoteq thing - and Pianoteq does not cause damage.

IF you think the frequencies are wrong - show us your measures- and I might show you how your audio system is doing and awful job of outputting it to your ears.

WHY NOT go to Sennheiser and say "Your earphones damage people's ears!".. what frequency range do they transmit?

WHY NOT go to the DAC maker and say "Your DAC should not be transforming digital audio above 16kHz to audio!!".

Honestly, I think you just like making Pianoteq users suffer, because of your own mistake.

If you genuinely felt it important.. then you'd realise how unimportant your accusation is - and how 'important' you'd like it to be, does not matter in hard cold reality.

Should Pianoteq make ONLY buttery soft piano sounds for those who don't make sizzling jazz and baked fusion?

WHY NOT address the world and demand the STOP making music you think may harm their hearing... OMG - Miles Davis and his horn!! Can't have that.. those organs, those squealing noises.. OMG.. don't even think about music post the last 40 years.. it's full of.. of.. of frequencies!

You had the temerity also to demand 'data' from me, to disprove your negative here.. I don't think you should be doing this Quixotic, personally, unless you can write a scientific paper and supply it "in good will" to Philippe.

Otherwise, I do see your scaremongering as baseless and frankly unhinged - and I don't want to see this community bogged down by chasing ghost hubcaps.

Every audio signal (bang tin pots, cello, synths, guitar, bass drums) may do damage - there's nothing intrinsically dangerous in Pianoteq's signal.

Pianoteq users prefer different pianos/presets and that's valid, because it's the user's choice.

You keep trying to establish some kind of definite "Oh there is a thing"... but it's just your observation, that you felt you didn't know how too loud for too long was happening to you, an educated man. Plenty of educated people are just as liable to turn up rock and roll too loud, as well.

Your regret is what you should have lead with, if you wish for more sympathy.. but you don't want sympathy, you wish to install, in revenge I believe, a fear of Pianoteq here, and it's to me, the lowest thing to do.

Your examples continue to not supply proof of damage to anyone's hearing. That's also low.

No. Only high velocity notes will have the data from high velocity notes. Pianoteq iirc some discussions years ago, does not go as hard on near-max velocity harshness (except for maybe really close to 127 velo).. that's something I'm not stating as a surety, but a recollection - and it bears out to me...

Plenty of users seem (in my observations over the decades while MIDI was 'normalising') to play with too high velocity, too high velocity curves etc. That's personal objective reporting. I've posted many times, suggesting people take time to work on a better velocity curve, playing with sometimes much lower velocity - and some have thanked me but I know it's one of those lost causes.. just me crying into the night wishing people could take a little time to make their sound in their space a better experience.

So, I patently understand the ideal, of giving users 'a better' experience.

But, you can supply anecdotal stories, like I did just there, and your story that Pianoteq causes harm is still unacceptable to me - completely.

Again - other that "People may turn up louder".. of course - that's not unique to Pianoteq.

That danger is universal. And to me, that's it's end point. It's terminal. An ex-parrot.

High volume playback (comfortable or not) is a user's own choice.

Society/civilisation cannot cancel 90% of all music/instruments/amps/VSTs/.. the whole industry, which makes PLENTY of exceptional equipment which may make "enjoyable loud music/sound"...

YOU cannot pass a law to set right the following:

"All VSTs which sound nice, might entice users to turn up higher, must be limited to a maximum of 85db". Or any other such thing.

That users say Pianoteq 'is harsh' is prove negative, to your entire premise Opus32.

There's only you saying "Oh yes it is".. and that's not proof of anything other than, I wish you came here to say "Hey I hurt my ears guys".. and we'd all have said "OMG that's so sad - really - it's a good thing you came here to help users by telling them what you might have done to have that outcome".

But, you didn't, you came to say "Pianoteq aggravates tinnitus" (then whatever supposedly semantic or other errors later), you're still saying the same kinds of things..

Say it again - and it's still incorrect.

Any users of any audio product can damage hearing, if they turn up too loud, for too long.

Pianoteq does NOT 'cause damage'.. Users of any audio product could cause their own damage, by overdoing it.

I've used so many audio products over a long time-line in various ways/capacities - and nobody would say "You know, the new distorto 1200 XV is really harsh but sounds so beautiful, well I just worry that if we put it in songs, people might turn it up loud enough to harm their ears".

Maybe some people need a government supplied safety goon to stand next to them to tell them when to turn down their volume "Hey citizen, that's a bit loud.. turn that down spotty!" because , there's a form of music called rock and roll, and they have cymbal crashes all through it. I know it's scary - and guitars have distortion applied, of differing types.. none of it 'certified' or any other such thing.

There are likely thousands of companies making distortion plugins - creating all kinds of inharmonic or other kinds of modelled distortion. Nobody can say "well, there needs to be some kind of safety measure for this" because, we're not a species, yet, who are told what to listen to.

Every kid getting a first electric guitar and an amp has this struggle "How loud is OK".

They are either smart enough to know their limits, or they can harm themselves. The world worried - but mostly about Elvis' hips.. so the world moved on, more than 70 years ago.

The intention of manufacturers is to supply instruments/hardware etc. suited to professional use - and an amp can fill a small room with an audience, a large one can be loud enough for all in a larger space, and even larger equipment arrays will fill stadiums with rock and roll, distortion and cymbal crashes.

There's nothing so dangerous about Pianoteq.

If you hear the demos and feel they're too harsh, that's someone's choice.

If you play it and think "It's excellent"! then the next logical step is NOT normally "so I will turn it up and up and play for 14 hours".

Some people are always going to be attracted/enthused by an instrument or amping or plugins, so much that they will risk their own hearing by hitting it loud - that's all there is to that.

There is nothing about Pianoteq (other than it is good) that could invisibly instruct users to keep turning it up higher, other than their own personal choice to do so.

Nobody at Modartt likes to learn that someone dislikes the product, I'm sure, because they work so hard to bring us all a reality based engine which track our performances and associates realistic sound to that, marvellously.

But, personal choice is endless.

I choose bright pianos, when it suits a piece. I mix pianos in too many different ways to explain.

If wanting to record/play a classical or quasi classical piece, my preference is to tend toward a less bright piano myself, but there is a non-incorrect aesthetic for bright 'grand performance' piano as well.

I'm not correct for preferring a less bright piano. But that's not cancelling out an opposing preference. It's life.

If users fear their audio - the answer is some learning, and of course care - and I've been the boring guy who posted more than a few times 'take care of your ears' when enthusiastic people were showing that enthusiasm here.. But that same advice applies universally to any audio..

There is no special thing about Pianoteq which can harm people, other than those people going too far, for too long on too high volume levels.

It's not about some new layer of bullshit about 'comfort'... all audio can be assessed for 'comfort' and still I'd say the same..

Look out for your own audio levels at home, of course! and be sure visually of those levels on your PC vol control etc.., and that's no matter the signal.. Don't stand in front of the big speakers at concerts, or put things in your ears..

That's what's real.

You can use a DAW and process your piano sounds like a good studio can - using a few 'master bus' processors even, just by themselves.. you can smooth dynamics, while keeping headroom - etc. but it does take time and over that time, you can learn preference for different types of output, your own choices apply.

[was going to edit down - time ran out]

Yes, but I think it needed to be said. I'm concerned that this thread may have needlessly tainted the Pianoteq experience for some loyal users. As for me, I'm not going anywhere. I must admit that some of the current presets are rather strident for my taste, but there are various things that can be done about that. And I still can't see any credible alternative to Pianoteq. For curiosity I looked at the VSL offerings, but they all need 16GB RAM, which I don't have. I tried their free piano, 'Soft Imperial' (which only needs 8GB), and all I can say is: nice samples, but if it's supposed to entice me to spend £££ upgrading my computer and buying into one of their paid versions, they need to work a lot harder.

I wouldn't say needless.

If a real piano is the "Laurel" in the whole Laurel vs. Yanny thing, Modartt needs to fix the overtones that are analogous to the artifacts that make it sound like Yanny to some, and make sure the 16-20kHz range is clear and that the attack is also not causing unsafe spikes in overtones.

Pianoteq is still usable, but it needs to be adjusted as it stands now, which is frankly unacceptable for software that is supposed to be the pinnacle of the market in terms of sound.

I would be just fine with them increasing the CPU usage... we have a new generation of CPUs now and if you're spending 450 bucks on software, I think you can probably upgrade your CPU or use an older version.

Also... I am banking on this issue being addressed for version 8.0.

I have used pianoteq a lot, and despite my complaints, nothing else I can find is better. I think some things maybe sound better as a default, but the pianos I and some others have made with Pianoteq's toolkit are second only to a real recordings.

Basically, I think they made a mistake with the most recent patch and made a bad issue worse, but due to the nature of sound perception, not everyone will perceive that difference as a problem. That perception is very low level processing.

I would describe the high overtones as "blue" and harsh... I don't know why the word "blue" describes the odd timbre I'm hearing, but maybe it'll make weird subjective sense to someone else...

I'm still on the page of "pianoteq is second to none," despite the harsh tone I've taken in this post.

I.e. keyscape sounds super bland to me.

To me, the most lifelike, accurate sounding pianos are the historical ones with a somewhat woodier tone. The latest Steinways sound too metallic, and really don't capture the bloom of the sympathetic resonance of the piano itself, or the way the overtones start to blend together as the tone fades.

What's funny... and sort of an aside - I've noticed on a lot of Steinways in showrooms, E4 sounds really sharp and clear, and then F sounds a lot mellower and carries far less. Just a funny characteristic about some Steinways I've encountered, a sort of trend,  perhaps having to do with the overtones of the cabinetry.

Anyways....

Real pianos tend to sound drier and woodier than Pianoteq - and that's going to be a lot of playing the same tone back out of phase but with a lot more to it than that.... So the sort of thing that is a lot trickier to try to emulate, since the theory behind it only gets you so far due to the complexity of the shape of a piano. And, doing a spectral analysis on that can certainly help, but you still have to pull out phase angles and what not.

I think that's where it's important to simply have a good ear for it. Honestly, I think the next great piano simulation will come as a result of using A.I... I've actually thought of personally trying to take on that project, although it would be years in the making. But, it would be a key A.I. application, likely getting us all the way there, where you can play an emulated, adjustable piano that sounds indistinguishable from the real thing to even trained ears.

A.I. would also be good for adapting performances to player pianos like Spirio. I.e. get an A.I. to pull Rachmaninoff's recordings and play them back - but where it can be trained on a specific piano with impulse matching sound.

Anyways... I think another key is that the crispness of a great piano is not unlike the crispness of a great harpsichord, where those upper overtones have something approximating a sawtooth wave, but not so sharp as that. Pleasant inharmonicity is tricky, and figuring out where the harmonicity ends in its contribution and where inharmonicity begins in its contribution is also tricky....

And also they did not get the growl of a Steinway's lower register when struck loud. It's loud, growls and blooms.

I too have tinnitus with bouts of severe vertigo. Mine is caused by a combination of a neurological issue and from being exposed to high frequency noise in my previous work environment and I face a lot of time with some days being better than others. There are ways to make life a bit more tolerable even with this condition by lowering the sound volume if possible and definitely to limit caffeine intake. Caffeine will definitely make it worse and that's most obvious in quiet settings such while listening to music and sleeping.

Over the years, I have found that practicing in practice rooms and later on my grand piano never caused any additional hearing damage. I never had ringing in my ears after playing or practicing. Perhaps this has to do with my technique which was never harsh and too loud. That doesn't say I can't play like that since I was taught to play firmly and to the bottom of the keys to produce a clear and even tone. My playing was no louder than I can tolerate myself and if it matters my teachers never complained about me playing too softly. They complained about other things, but never that! I also limit my time at the piano to no more than an hour at a time. This limit also works because I become braindead and can't play anything. Those breaks too every 15 to 20 minutes are great too for longer practice times for brain fatigue as well as physical stiffness and hearing.

In addition to playing my real grand piano, I also play my Roland LX17 with Pianoteq which I find produces a far better sound than Roland ever did, but to be honest I always found it bright and sometimes tinny in comparison to my real piano. No matter what I tried, I could never get the sound right whether I used headphones (rarely), old Sony PC speakers or the piano's speakers.

Recently, I had to replace my computer which came with the gawd awful Maxx Audio Pro software. No matter what I did, I could never play back anything that sounded right whether it was Pianoteq or a video game. This was worse than I had before with my old motherboard and even going through the process of adjusting various settings in their equalizers, special effects turned off, etc., the audio output was garbage, which led me to finally cave and spend some money on a discrete soundcard.

After replacing the audio hardware, the output was like night and day different!

The problem all along was the sound hardware in my computer. I had replaced the built-in sound hardware with a Creative Labs SoundBlaster AE-9. At first, I was disappointed because of the stupid audio presets. I then poked around various settings in the interface and found something called Direct Mode. This allows me to turn off the special effects and environment settings, which means there are no extras added to the sound and it's what they call the raw sound output from the program or video.

After turning this stuff off, the output is like night and day and the pianos now sound much, much better including the NY Steinway D with its hard attack at the beginning. The sound isn't perfect, but the audio is much better and less annoying.

Unfortunately, this solution won't work for everyone due to hardware limitations of laptops and various computer makes and models and budgets. If you can afford to do so and are running a PC, try this soundcard or another one that allows you to turn off the special effects completely and aren't like those toddler toys with switches that go through the motions but don't do squat.

Hi Michael,
Credit where credit is due, only Opus32 is really making that assertion of damaging hidden overtones, no one else is making such wild claims. There are some agreement from some users unhappy with the bright or sharp tones mainly to Steinway D model.

Some agreement here that the latest updates have had some presets that are too bright and tiring since recent updates or from version 6and 7 onwards.

Mostly (as suggested in another thread) it seems like preset tuning choices.  Maybe we could see A/B/C or Soft/Standard/Bright versions of particularly useful presets like Classical recording presets.
Or alternatively even a global EQ filter option that works on every preset with those three basic options.

It's all highly adjustable already in the product we already have but ease of use or simplicity is probably what most people want.
Not that I would want options taken away, more considering the "one knob" ease of use crowd. People intimidated by options.

I'm guessing the 16-20k range isn't likely what's hard on people's ears here. If you take a look at the EQ I applied to that darker NY Steinway FXP I posted, the HF roll off actually starts "way down" around 2.5 or 3k, and then starts getting fairly significant by about 6k or so, hitting the max attenuation around 10k and up. Of course it's hard to tell exactly on that tiny little EQ interface! I just applied it by ear. And yes, while the Steinway D is bright in Pianoteq, it's not their brightest piano.

I mentioned this before, but I do think physical modelling and synthesis in general--by the nature of how it works--has the potential to create sounds that can be dangerous, with certain combinations of frequencies and timbres that give the illusion that a sound is not as loud as it actually is (especially HF). That's sort of the alchemy of synthesis, creating sounds either brand new, nonexistent in nature--or in the case of physical modeling--replicating, by "artificial" means, sounds already existing in our world. And so there are bound to be times when certain sounds/instruments have some elevated HF that can creep up on you.

Perhaps all synthesis software/hardware should come with a disclaimer?? But really, people do need to be aware that when you're working with digital audio, especially produced through synthesis, that you need to be very careful not only with overall loudness levels, but also with the nature of the sounds being listened to. I do think these things could be improved in Pianoteq--things certainly are constantly improving overall--but issues like this will be impossible to avoid completely as the alchemy that is physical modeling continues to evolve.

Right, that was a bit tongue-in-cheek. Many of these developers are very small companies, and so seem to be very open to user feedback; a win-win for everyone.

Uploaded another EQ variant of NY D with a recessed 1khz region. Just removed and replaced a copy of it with the wrong (earlier EQ variant ) description.

EDIT:
Also added softer mezzo alternative version with different stereo image. These are crispy punchy presets, but trying to not have any harsh overtones.
See what people think It could be interesting if these two are considerably worse or better for other users tinnitus.

I know you're talking broadly here Qexl, but regarding synthesis, that's not quite what I was getting at. Obviously any sound has the potential of being dangerous, whether it's a recording of a gentle 'cello solo, played back with the volume cranked to some ridiculous extreme (with your ear right up against the tweeter!); or if you're playing in an orchestra with a trumpet bell blaring away right at the back of your head. And of course everything we hear is analog in the end. My point was simply that--say for example using Surge (software synth)--it's easy to accidentally turn some knob a bit too far and suddenly find yourself blasted with deafening static. You're probably a bit less likely to have a similar issue while applying a subtle EQ to your gentle 'cello solo (although crazy things can happen!).

Pianoteq is far safer than something like Surge from that standpoint, and I'm not even saying there's necessarily anything wrong with Surge in that regard. I very quickly learned that when using a lot of these synthesizer programs, it was crucial to use a limiter, at least while experimenting. But it's also fairly easy within Pianoteq to select an especially bright piano, or say modify a harpsichord to some extreme making it exceedingly bright, and get carried away playing it for a while before realizing that the combination of its brightness and the volume you've selected is potentially damaging. Can that happen with anything, including playing real instruments? Absolutely. But clicking the mouse a few times makes it quite easy. That's essentially my point. Synthesis in general opens up the possibility of any possible sound, so it's not too difficult with synthesizers, and likely to a lesser extent physical modeling, to create some unique and particularly dangerous sounds (though not necessarily worse than that trumpet blaring at your head!).

Should Pianoteq put some limit on how bright we can make its instruments? Absolutely not; Pianoteq's flexibility is by far one of its strongest points. Should Pianoteq tone down some of the default presets? I don't know, I use my own presets so don't really have a dog in that fight (but I think the overall argument of this thread mainly just boils down to this question of overall brightness of presets). Should Pianoteq strive to improve the HF end of its instruments? Yes definitely, but it's always done this from release to release while increasing realism in general. I've been very happy with that progression.

Thanks, Qexl!

That's a fantastic assortment of linked videos.  I especially liked the Hellzapoppin' 'pick-up band' video - such spirited choreographed craziness.

...Pianoteq never fails to entertain, in ways that I can't predict on a day to day basis.

B-)

Glad you enjoyed these gems You're the bees knees!

Nice to hopefully relax some unnecessary worries.

The Helzapoppin scenes.. so thrilling, energy and charm - talents.. all off the hook

I like how the poetic guy next to the mallet drummer says something like "give everything the law allows - this thing might turn into something" .. how I feel.

Just definitely want everyone knowing there are better things than to worry about overtones... the horrors feared by some in thread are quite unfounded. I trust people can find their own best practices, esp. if they don't focus on what's not real.

But then, that's like finishing an improv with a little twinkle in my eye there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa23fu7qYgk

With love to this fine Pianoteq community.

So, I've noticed that the frequency issues seem to be primarily exacerbated by the built-in reverb, though I've not tried plugin reverb settings. This might have something to do with some of the weirdness I and others are picking up.

Also... Frequency sweeps need to be time-dependent heatmaps.

Could be another issue, could also be too much of the fundamental frequency as well, rather than the high ones.

Not sure. All I know is that regardless, the new pianos all seem to wreck my eardrums, no matter the headphones, and the old ones do too if I have too much reverb - or even reverb at all.

Good to hear you've gotten at least some relief by turning off the reverb. You could try adjusting the "tone" control to see if that helps. Might also try making a basic DAW session, just 1 instrument track with Pianoteq and separate reverb plugin either on the same track or an aux track so you can further adjust it.

Have you tried frequency sweeping? I'd recommend trying this in a DAW since Pianoteq's EQs aren't user-friendly (imo). Use an overall low volume for safety/comfort, pull up a basic EQ plugin, pick a band, set the Q/bandwidth to very narrow, boost it as much as you can (usually 12-18db) and move the frequency around (slowly) till the offending frequency really stands out. Then cut it by however you feel is necessary. This is standard practice in mixing. It's also possible to use a dynamic EQ to cut the offending frequency only when it sounds at a particular loudness (so you're not affecting notes or chords where it's less prominent).

The sweep technique can be a rabbit hole though, as it's easy to start "noticing" tons of frequencies that sound "bad" and then you end up cutting so many that it kills the overall sound. But if there's one that's triggering tinnitus, could be worth a shot.

You might also try a demo of Soothe2. Though for the money, you might be better off with a different piano app/library altogether (and I'm a Pianoteq fanboi).

1. Profession doesn't grant statistical evidence
2. Your research should show evidence. I didn't see evidence just yet.
3. The Test-Environment is flawed unless we all use the same hardware, sofware and settings

Beyond all that, I CAN re-create headache, using the felt preset. But thats because the bass is too fat... Isn't that right? Or is it because of something else?
Now I make the claim the felt-presets create headache. How does a felt-preset compare to a non-felt preset?

I would come up with measurements... right?

Do you know why your research is so hard to understand?
Next somebody comes up saying that wind turbines are causing sickness in people.
Or that WiFi/5G causes stress in people and sleep problems.

While parts of those things 'could' be true, it's no basis to talk. Just because apart of the 0.001% of people who are sensitive enough to evidently feel it and the others might just be struck by mass-hysteria... which often leads to death.

But you know what? You could also have epilepsy. Audiogenic 'content' such as uneven music can cause seizures or other problems. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moir%C3%A9_pattern
Knowing THAT, and knowing that sinus-tone alike sounds found in some alarms are equally stressful/painful, I can assume something.
But do I know it?

I guess one of the reasons why https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2021/08/12/ben-franklins-killer-instrument-the-glass-armonica/#:~:text=The%20complexity%20of%20the%20armonica,hallucinations%2C%20and%20cramps%20amongst%20performers.&text=In%201808%2C%20German%20glass%20armonica,spooky%20tones%20of%20Franklin's%20armonica. is a thing could be because of the sinus-like tone which can cause seizures.

I like your reply except the 'mansplaining' part. I guess everybody can sound harsh and insensible. A word that is created purely to describe a gender based behavior is nothing I'd accept. Especially in a time where there is so much political nonsense and tug of war which is anything but equality.

You could try making a working preset that cuts out overtones above 4186 Hz, the fundamental frequency of the highest note on the piano, and use a non-filtered offset only for making final recordings. That should help if it is the high-pitched overtones that are aggravating your tinnitus.

I've been using Pianoteq 7 for several months now with £275 DT900 PRO X headphones and within the first few days I noticed I was getting mild but annoying tinnitus after an hour or so and it persisted after I stopped - something I have never had at all before (I'm over 60). I did not have the volume very high - I'm not generation head-banger - but I tried turning it down anyway and still got the effect although milder. It onsets within a couple of minutes of starting to play. Not sure if this is me, Pianoteq or the headphones. I can testify that this is a definite effect though. It's not someone's imagination and no, I have no intention of spending £4000 on ultra-geek headphones; if there is a problem and ordinary good quality cans suffer it then I domn't regard spending more than my annual income on new cans as a solution.

Someone posted a great DP review and the pianist said the headphones impaired her hearing. Getting good monitors or a DP with good speakers would help.

When I was able to play at higher volumes (probably closer to the real thing subjectively) through quite large loudspeakers I found the balance not harsh, just full bodied with realistic ringing resonance.  Playback options make such a big difference to our perception of balance. 
This may seem at first counterintuitive, perhaps not particularly helpful either in many domestic situations.
Plenty of the presets reward almost realistic (subjectively) playback levels.

Plenty of options to tailor existing presets to taste - like the subtle reverb mod I suggested earlier in this thread.

I wish I knew what was coming next from Modartt, if any updates this year?

Woah - you have your own house and STILL the neighbours are a problem. - not even terraced but semi-detached! Yikes, they must be horrible people.

Seriously though lots of people even those living in well built flats and terraced properties are not having problem with loudspeaker systems and their neighbours.

It's very much a case-by-case basis, certainly not only the preserve of privileged few people with fully detached houses!!!

Perhaps you have particularly thin walls on a new build, combined with really horrible neighbours?

Edit: out of curiosity I just googled American homes - see what they would think of your comments on the other side of the pond . It seems just 5.7% of homes in America are semi-detached. They call semi-detached houses in the US "duplex".

Nope, you're not alone. This is almost EXACTLY how it goes for me.

I couldn't have described it better myself, and clearly haven't.

All the "skeptical" (skeptical of everything except for their own narrow-minded opinions) people calling us crazy, yet you can report the exact same experience and get it down to pretty concise detail.

You and like 3-4 other people mention this... my girlfriend also noticed it.

It's a trend. Sick of the fanboi crap going on in this thread.