Pretty sure the whole stradivarius thing is just audiophilia all over again.<p>EDIT: yeah, pretty much: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradavarius#Comparisons_in_sound_quality" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradavarius#Comparisons_in_so...</a><p>EDIT2: "just" was the wrong word. Obviously they're fabulous pieces of art in themselves, and doubtless beautiful to play. But like other art, they aren't valued based on how good they sound/look. I'd like to point out that I care about this a lot less than the tone of my original comment might imply.
Stealing a 6 million dollar stradivarius is an incredibly stupid idea, really. With only about 650 surviving Stradivari instruments around, this is about more than just the sound. Its the same reason I bought a Martin over a 100 dollar import acoustic guitar. The Martin has a flawless 3 piece rosewood back and the construction quality is pretty much impecable. I know I could play just as well on a cheap guitar, but the aesthetics of my guitar make me want to play it more often, take better care of it and I do think there is a negligible sound quality difference vs something cheaper.<p>Maybe there isn't, but I know that 40 years from now when my kids inherit this guitar they will have something that has retained its value and will be treated like a keepsake instead of relegated to a landfill as "junk".<p>Its just like any hobby or discipline, when you are interested in it, you want to have great hardware/software to participate.
I think I've seen two other reports of thefts involving this particular make of violin here in London in the past year or so. It really is a very high profile instrument.