so ive been going back and forth on this for like two months now and i cant make up my mind. currently running an old FT-450D which has been solid but i want to step up and these two keep coming up every time i do any research. the 7300 obviously has that waterfall display which looks really nice and i know the SDR architecture gets talked up a lot but ive heard some people say the receiver gets stomped on in contest conditions with a lot of signals nearby. the 590SG on the other hand seems to have a reputation for being a really clean receiver, roofing filters and all that, but the interface feels kind of dated and there's no panadapter built in unless you mess around with adding one externally.

my main operating is going to be general HF, maybe some CW down the road, a fair bit of SSB ragchewing and probably some WSPR/FT8 stuff on the side. not really a hardcore contester so i dont know if the receiver performance difference would even matter to me in normal use. shack is in my basement, antenna situation is a trapped vertical in the backyard right now but planning to put up a dipole or fan dipole sometime this spring.

anyone actually used both? or have a strong opinion either way

I've had the 7300 for about three years now and honestly for what you're describing it's a great fit. The waterfall alone changes how you operate, you start finding signals you'd have just tuned past before. For FT8 and WSPR it's basically plug and play with the USB connection handling audio and CAT control all in one cable which is really nice.

The receiver thing gets exaggerated in my opinion. Yeah if you're standing next to a guy running a kilowatt on the next band over at Field Day it might get a little rough but for everyday HF use I've never had a moment where I thought the 590 would have handled it better. And the 7300's touch screen plus that real time spectrum scope just makes the whole experience more enjoyable day to day. The 590 is a great radio dont get me wrong but the interface really does feel like 2010 compared to sitting in front of the 7300.

had a 590SG for about a year before i sold it and got the 7300 and tbh both are good radios but i dont regret switching. the roofing filter on the 590 is genuinely better on paper and if you ever get into contests you might notice it but for ragchewing and digital modes the 7300 just wins on usability. one thing nobody mentions enough is the 7300's built in audio processing is actually pretty decent for tx as well, people on the other end have commented my audio sounds clean without a bunch of external processing.

only gripe ive had is the 7300 display can wash out a bit in direct light if you have a window near your desk, had to reposition things in my shack. minor thing but worth knowing