welcome to the forum.

To answer your question,, in my opinion for what its worth, the best way to sound better is practice more. There is a video of fiddlerman trying out a 100 dollar fiddle and he makes it sound like it cost about five grand. 

As you are an intermedaite player you may appreciate a more expensive and better made instrument, but to sound better you have to play better, a more expensive instrument may be easier to play, fiddlerman himself sells some good stuff if you are in the states, I am in the UK my violin is hungarian. I had a stentor before this one, that was a good violin and  cost about 180 quid, I enjoyed playing that as much as the one I have now, my problem is not enjoying playing its trying ro stop myself practicing😀😀 I am a very beginner by the way been only playing a couple of years