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Assumptions based off of maturing is equivalent to words like drying and hardening of wood. Moisture leaving tonal imprints as wood matures, regardless of its pattern. Yet exotic wood grain is more sturdy and can be used to thin and lighten the instrument thus increasing loudness of sound projection.
So would you rather have a light simple grain violin or a medium flame violin O.o
just kidding
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The studies come down to craftsmanship regardless of age. Do old Cremonesse violin have superior craftsmanship to modern instruments? Are the great pyramids more impressive the mount Everest? Apples or oranges?
Given the changes that a violin might experience over life, it is just possible that Poppa Strad never heard an existing Strad violin 
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Actually, Oliver.. "Poppa Strad" probably wouldn't recognize them at all.
So far as I am aware, every existing Strad has been modified to have the modern neck and angle and was re-graduated. So he might not recognize them as his own work at all.. "Hey! How are you getting the neck to stay on without nails?"
Thinning the tops and replacing the necks/scrolls for the more modern idea of the string angle made the actual original Strad extinct long ago.
All of those things would also obviously have affected the sound. But they also mean that we have no idea what they may have originally sounded like or even how "Poppa Strad" meant them to sound. And that is *before* we consider the changes that 300 yrs or so may have made. LOL
If there is one thing that the article/experiment of the original post showed, I think it would be this.. If you really want the best sounding violin (within your price range), don't trust your eyes or a name or a price tag or what you "know" about violins. Take along a friend who can play at least a bit, or go to a shop owner who can play a bit for you or take along your teacher.. and close your eyes and pick by the sound as they try them out for you.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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