Regarding the differences between presets in Model D Home and Model D Prelude, the following differences are noted, based on a side-by-side comparison of parameters in Pianoteq 6 PRO:

Hammer Noise:
Set to flat 1.00 in D Home; average ~.75, minimum .58 to 1.00,  in D Prelude, with three individual notes up to 1.16.

Hammer Hardness (Piano Only -- the mf and ff settings were identical between these 2 piano presets):
Set to flat 0.30 in D Home;  set nominally to .30 in D Prelude, with some randomization as much as +/-0.05 throughout the keyboard.

Volume:
Set to flat 0dB in D Home; Set nominally to 0dB in D Prelude, with some randomization as much as +/-3dB throughout the keyboard.

Stereo Width:
Set to 2.00 in D Home; set to 1.50 in D Prelude

Microphone choice and positioning around virtual piano:
In D Home, used Omni microphone, positioned to the right of the piano's case (as you face the keyboard) and estimated about 2 feet higher than the strings.

In D Prelude, used U87-Figure 8 pattern, positioned in front of the keyboard, facing the strings, and estimated about 2 feet higher than the keyboard.

All of the remaining settings and values appeared to be identical between D Home and D Prelude.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Joe

EDIT:  Regarding which preset SHOULD you use, I am not in a position to tell you which one you should use.  It is up to your own personal taste and setup to use the preset you are most happy with.

Hey Joe, thanks a lot for the explanation. Base on the mic positioning, I think it's best to choose the Prelude preset to feel like playing on a real acoustic piano. (player role)

The Home preset is more like for audiences in a small room that sits close to the right side of the piano and the Classical Recording preset is for audiences in a big room sits far from the right side of the piano. (audience role)

I'm currently using the Stage version so I didn't see the mic positions. This helped me a lot. I decided to play around with the Standard Trial version to experiment with the mic positioning and the parameters you explained above too. Thanks again!

Johnny

Hammer Noise:
Set to flat 1.00 in D Home; average ~.75, minimum .58 to 1.00,  in D Prelude, with three individual notes up to 1.16.

Hammer Hardness (Piano Only -- the mf and ff settings were identical between these 2 piano presets):
Set to flat 0.30 in D Home;  set nominally to .30 in D Prelude, with some randomization as much as +/-0.05 throughout the keyboard.

Volume:
Set to flat 0dB in D Home; Set nominally to 0dB in D Prelude, with some randomization as much as +/-3dB throughout the keyboard.

Stereo Width:
Set to 2.00 in D Home; set to 1.50 in D Prelude

Microphone choice and positioning around virtual piano:
In D Home, used Omni microphone, positioned to the right of the piano's case (as you face the keyboard) and estimated about 2 feet higher than the strings.

In D Prelude, used U87-Figure 8 pattern, positioned in front of the keyboard, facing the strings, and estimated about 2 feet higher than the keyboard.

All of the remaining settings and values appeared to be identical between D Home and D Prelude.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Joe

EDIT:  Regarding which preset SHOULD you use, I am not in a position to tell you which one you should use.  It is up to your own personal taste and setup to use the preset you are most happy with.

I spent time testing with the Steinway D presets and found out that the Classical Recording BA preset is just like hearing the recording from classical concert indeed. But for daily practicing and more important is I want to be just like I'm playing a real Steinway grand acoustic piano, sitting at the player position (at home). Which preset should I choose? What are the differences between Home and Prelude presets?

Additionally, I'm using the velocity curve preset from http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=4096 by xkuruma. Is there any suggestion for me?

Thank you!