@estherschindler
I was about to respond with a link to the 2012 double-blind study where the Stradivari ranked very low in player preference, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that this article included it. Recommended reading.
One thing this article does not mention (but that 2012 study does) is that even the best examples of these instruments sound different today than they did during the age in which they were made. Micro fractures in finish, the wood itself, etc.