I play an Eastman. I think its a pretty good instrument.  Nice sound, nice response, well constructed and a good looking instrument.  I like it.  One of the reasons I decided to go with the Eastman is that I heard a lot of good reports about Eastman products  from teachers, students, musicians at various skill levels.

If you have a good violin shop in your area where you can try different instruments and compare them then I would advise going that route so you can decide for yourself by actually trying different ones.  Unfortunately many of us don't have the luxury of a well stocked local violin shop.  I don't think you can go wrong with the Eastman.