Magic Cables and Tubes

Audio gear has a "break-in" period of sorts...warm up, tubes settling in...etc...but wooden intruments change all the time due to humidity, how often they're played, how hard they're played, who sneezed on them and why...Also, comparing new violins to ONE Strad is silly, as that Strad has its own feel and vibe for sure and no two are the same. Interestingly, in the "collectable" guitar world, any mods or refinishing trashes the value, or at least diminishes it greatly regardles of the sound of the instrument, but old violins get neck resets, fingerboard changes and all sorts of stuff to help 'em through the ages usually with no harm to the monetary value of the instrument.

Wow Wolf, just like audio gear !

Violins, like most wood instruments, need to be played a while to really see what's what in terms of personal preference as they are sort of "organic." A "first blush" test, although interesting, is nearly meaningless. Musicians good enough to play Strads would be using something else if something else sounded and felt better. Nobody really cares what violin a great musician is playing except the violinist, as the thing that matters is what is being played.

Forgot to mention, it's not just the violin but the skill and technique of the player as well (and don't forget the bow). These players are probably capable of coaxing some amazing things out of an ordinary violin.

New cheaper violins compared to what? Oh Stradivarius? That means those "other" newer cheaper violins could be some of the best recent or currently made violins in the world, some of which are very, very good. Doesn't take much to be cheaper than a Strad, these "cheaper" violins could still cost an easy million. Stradivarius made violins late 1600s-early 1700s, wouldn't that make most existing violins "newer"?

Plus, is every violin player convinced that Strads are the best? Seems to be a faddish opinion. How about Amatis and Guarnaris or a list of other extremely fine violins that most people have never heard of? Was Stradivarius THE only person who ever made a magnificent violin? You can bet that most professional violinists aren't using Strads because old Antonio didn't make many and even fewer survived. So what are all the other musicians using, a cigar box with strings?

The OPs analogy is totally lost on me. Am I to conclude from inference that there is no difference between cables because some violinists picked violins other than those of Antonio Stradivarius? The whole thing is moderately ridiculous and even if it weren't, what does it have to do with audio cables?

Newer, high tech cars can outperform older ones but why do collectors covet and care for older cars, especially high performance cars? There's more involvement required with the requisite skills necessary not to launch it into the weeds, or around a telephone poll.

Just about anyone can drive a new, high performance car up to it's limits, but it takes a skilled driver to bring it back once you exceed the limits. It takes that same level of skill to bring out the best of what was once considered the best.

All the best,
Nonoise

So which new, cheaper tubes and cables did they use in this test?

Just because something is highly prized or valued doesn't mean it's the highest performing object in it's class. They can overlap, but as a rule collectors collect and players play.

Which color of car do you like the most kid? "NEW".