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 fine but the display is just terrible and i want to upgrade to something with a proper panadapter or at least a decent spectrum display built in.

the 7300 seems like the obvious choice because everyone and their dog has one and the spectrum scope is genuinely good from what i can tell on youtube videos. but a few guys at the club keep telling me the 590SG just sounds better on receive, cleaner audio, better roofing filters out of the box. one of them ran both side by side at a hamfest a while back and said the kenwood just felt more solid somehow.

i do mostly SSB on 40 and 20, some 15 when the band cooperates, occasional digital but nothing serious. not really a contester. just casual ragchewing and occasionally hunting a bit of DX when something interesting pops up on the cluster. budget is around $1100 used or new doesnt matter to me.

what would you guys actually pick if you were buying today

had the 590SG for about three years before i picked up a 7300 and honestly the kenwood guys arent wrong, the receive audio on the 590 is really nice, very smooth, and the DSP implementation feels more mature somehow. but the 7300 wins on everyday usability just because of that touchscreen and the spectrum scope. when youre spinning the band looking for a qso it changes how you operate, you start seeing the band instead of just listening to it.

for what you described — 40/20 ragchew and occasional DX — id go 7300 without much hesitation. the waterfall alone will keep you entertained for hours when youre first getting it set up. and the price on used ones has come down a fair bit. saw one go on qrz classifieds last week for like 850 in good shape.

i have the 7300 and yeah its great but dont sleep on the fact that the 590 has dual watch which the 7300 doesnt, if you ever get into any kind of split operating or just want to monitor two freqs at once its really handy. probably doesnt matter for casual ops but worth knowing i guess