He's not being a snob any more than I am. I've never questioned the composer though when he cringes at a sample or legato transition he doesn't like.
I do mockups professionally and do the best I can. Better and improved? Maybe, but still a far cry from the real thing. However, I do not have a predilection to say something sounds great that doesn't. I see the attraction and hear the moments that people like - I like them too. It just shouts 'electric' and not acoustic. That's the Rachmaninov G#minor at the end? When you have those types of dense harmonies you get a welling up of overtones that remains one of the most difficult things to emulate still it seems. I won't comment on the Moonlight Sonata out of respect for the composer and the piece. When you get to the famous eighth note tune of Fur Elise - ouch, that is just brutal and something I've never heard from even a Wurlitzer spinet in a lifetime of playing and listening.
The unnatural sounding mid range in the opening Chopin is a dead giveaway (a common problem in sampled pianos.) Next is Chopin etude? The emerging bass line couldn't sound more fake and unnatural.
