Let me start with an admission of bias. I live 40 miles from Cannonball headquarters in Utah where I visit frequently. I know the owners and several of the folks who work for Cannonball, and they are highly skilled musicians, and really nice people.
I started my repair apprenticeship in the music store that was the very first Cannonball dealer, and as such I worked on every model from the very start. The earliest ones played very well, but the company in Taiwan was still at the beginning of the "learning curve" in manufacturing so there were some typical issues with key fitting, soft keys, quality control, etc.
Each new model's design and build quality got better and better starting with the Royal Crown series in 1996 through the Knight models in 1998, and through the later Knight series in 2000. By the time the Big Bell Global Series was introduced in 2001 they were getting it "right" in terms of the areas previously mentioned. The Big Bell Stone Series starting in 2005 was their "flagship" model which continues through the present. Because my saxophone repair shop is in the middle of "Cannonball Country" most of the saxes I work on are Cannonballs, I can vouch from first hand experience how well they play and hold up over time.
All of their saxophones after the long journey from Taiwan have the corks holding the keys closed removed and then allowed a period of time for the materials to settle. Next each instrument goes through an assembly line made up of regulation specialists who check and adjust pad seating and regulation changes that may have occurred during shipping. Somewhere during this stage the stones are added to the key touches, and the instrument is hand engraved.
Finally, each of the pro models are play tested by professional level players including the company president Tevis Laukat and "acoustically customized" using a proprietary technique which involves making small changes to the interior geometry of the neck. I have listened first hand to the before and after demonstrations of the sound as a result of this process and it is the "real deal".
The bottom line after all that is that my (admittingly biased) answer is "Yes, Cannonball is a good saxophone company". One of the things I like as a repair tech is the availability of parts for all models in all finishes---something that cannot be said for all makes of Taiwanese saxes on the market.
This is a link where you can learn more about the
Cannonball Company