It's hard to say what exact difficulty you were having with that particular horn, but having an out of shape embouchure probably didn't help.  You've got your work cut out for you to develop it to the point where you can get a full and rich sound with good intonation from a soprano.  My experience with soprano (I've put it aside for a while to concentrate on tenor) was that larger tip openings and harder reeds got me the clearest sound, but they were very taxing physically.  At the time I had a biting problem on soprano and tenor, but it was much more severe on soprano.  So developing that embouchure to where you can control it precisely with a reasonable amount of relaxation is essential.

I love the sound of vintage sopranos from the 1920s and 1930s that is clearer and darker than modern sopranos, which can tend towards the thin and shrill side.  But there's a tradeoff in that the ergonomics aren't nearly as good and a lot more effort is required to play them in tune.   They can be had for less than two grand, but be aware of what you're getting into and budget for some reconditioning if you go that route.

If I were in the market for a new soprano for less than two grand, I would be very interested in the Kessler handmade model because it is purpose-built for the darker vintage sound and has some true top end features usually found on more costly horns.  It's the best value per dollar proposition that I'm aware of in sopranos.  Well worth checking out on Kessler's website.

Guess we shouldn't forget Jupiter for solid, moderately priced horns.