so ive been running an old TS-590SG for about four years now and honestly it was a great radio, no real complaints, but i kept seeing people rave about the 7300 and the price dropped enough that i figured why not. picked one up used in pretty clean condition and been running it for maybe three weeks now.

first thing i noticed is the waterfall display is just... way more useful than i expected. i always thought it was kind of a gimmick when i saw screenshots but actually having it in front of you while youre tuning around 40m at night is a different experience. you can just see where the activity is without scanning around forever. that part sold me fast.

the receiver feels a little different from the Kenwood — hard to describe, not better or worse exactly, just different. on weak signal stuff on 80m i feel like the 590 might have had a slight edge but im not doing rigorous A/B testing here, just vibes mostly. the built in ATU is fine for what i need it for.

one thing thats mildly annoying is the menu system takes some getting used to. not bad just different. also the fan kicks on more than i expected even at lower power but i run it in the shack so not a big deal.

anyway not really a question just figured id share since i see this comparison come up a lot. happy to answer stuff if anyone has specific questions about going from the 590 to the 7300.

the waterfall thing is real, i had the same reaction when i got mine. dismissed it as a toy feature for a long time and then realized i was using it basically every single QSO to check for QRM before transmitting. the 7300 kinda changed how i operate without me really noticing it happening.

on the receiver comparison — i think what youre picking up on is real. the 590 has a slightly different front end topology and some guys who do careful comparisons say it holds up better in very dense band conditions. but for most operating the 7300 is totally fine and the SDR based architecture gives you things the older design just cant do. tradeoffs everywhere.

what antenna you running it into? im curious how the built in ATU is handling things for you, mine sometimes needs a little coaxing on 60m with my doublet.

ive been on the fence about this exact swap for like six months lol. my 590SG is working fine theres literally no reason to change but the 7300 just looks fun to use. maybe ill wait til i see another good used one come up locally. good to hear the transition wasnt painful at least