Hi there Michael. Welcome to the Woodwind Forum (WF).
What you describe is very common. Different horns have different levels of resistance. Yamahas are known to be very easy blowing, horns, with almost no resistance, and nearly perfect intonation. That is why they are recommended by teachers the world over for beginning students. On the other hand, King Cleveland horns offer more resistance, and are more difficult to get a sound out of.
I had 2 students once, both started out at approximately the same time. One got a Yamaha YAS23, and the other got a King Cleveland alto. Both horns were set up properly by a tech, and all pads, felts, springs, etc. were in top working condition. The student using the Yamaha excelled, while the student using the King really struggled. Now true, the student with the Yamaha had much more innate musical talent, and would likely have done better even if he had been playing on the King, but I always wonder how much better the student on the King would have done if he had had the opportunity to play on a Yamaha.
Personally, I have quite a few saxophones--about 30 at last count--and all of them have different levels of resistance. The easiest blowing alto I have is a Conn 6M, while the most resistance-filled is my Pierret. The Pierret almost feels like I'm blowing through a trumpet at times, it is that resistant. Since I am primarily a tenor and bari player, I have more tenors and baritones than smaller horns. In my tenors, interestingly enough, my most free-blowing horn is a King Zephyr.
I'm sure someone could chime in here with a scientific explanation of why the differing resistance in the different horns--most likely using some form of physics equation like E=MC2 :wink:
--but I've never been scientifically-minded enough to try and wrap my head around these concepts.
I was an arts and education major. I avoided the science buildings at all cost.