The name Stradivarius has become a byword for quality and prestige, with string instruments crafted by the Italian family often selling for more than £10 million. But a new study suggests that today’s concert audiences actually prefer the sound of newer instruments.

Violinists often claim that Old Italian models are better at carrying over a full orchestra in a large hall, with US concertmaster Frank Almond, who plays a Stradivarius, arguing that newer models:  “do not carry past the sixth row.” Likewise, the British cellist Steven Isserlis, who plays a Stradivarius cello, said: “A famous and curious feature of Stradivarius instruments is that their tone seems to increase with distance.”