so ive had my TS-590SG sitting on the desk for going on 7 years now and its been a solid radio, no complaints really. but ive been eyeing the IC-7300 mostly because everyone seems to have one and the panadapter display looks really useful for finding activity on 40m when its crowded. my 590 doesnt have a built in scope obviously and ive been using an SDR dongle on the side which works but its kind of a janky setup with two screens and trying to sync everything up mentally.

the thing is im not sure the 7300 is actually a step up in terms of receiver performance. from what ive read the 590 is still competitive especially on close-in dynamic range. maybe even better in some measurements? i dont do contests seriously just casual SSB and some CW when the mood hits. anyone made this switch or gone the other way? also considered just picking up a used 7610 but those are still pretty pricey used.

honestly the 7300 is a great radio and the spectrum display does change how you operate, im not gonna pretend otherwise. but if youre mostly doing casual SSB and CW the 590SG is not holding you back, not even a little. the receiver in that thing is genuinely excellent and Kenwood's filtering has always been solid. i went from a 7300 to a 7610 and THAT felt like a real upgrade. going 590 to 7300 sideways is probably the more accurate description.

if the panadapter thing is really bugging you have you looked at just getting a better SDR integration going? like SDR-Console can sync pretty well with the 590 over CAT and you get a decent display without spending a grand or whatever the 7300 goes for these days.

i made basically this exact swap about two years ago, 590sg to 7300, and i dont regret it but i will say the 590 was the better receiver at least by the numbers. the waterfall on the 7300 is addictive though, like genuinely changes how you hunt for signals. for relaxed operating its probably the right call just manage your expectations on the RF performance side of things its not a huge leap or anything