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Reviews For: Kenwood TS-590S

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Kenwood TS-590S
Reviews: 274MSRP: 1799.99
Description:
The TS-590S marks a bold new chapter in Kenwood's proud history of manufacturing high-performance transceivers. Featuring a narrow-band Roofing Filter the TS-590S significantly reduces interference from unwanted signals that would be hidden to lesser rigs. With IF AGC based on advanced DSP technology, Kenwood has essentially redefined HF performance.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Communications/Amateur_Radio/HF_Base_Mobile/TS-590S
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002744.6
NT4MM Rating: 2013-03-26
Really Great Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
There's not a whole lot I can add on the rig's performance that others haven't already said. I can operate easy digital modes through the USB interface, the rig is an outstanding CW rig, especially for the price point, and the receiver has to be heard to be believed in this price point. I've had most of the other current offerings in this price point, or at least spent a good bit of time working with them, and even doing A/B comparisons. This receiver really will let you cut down and through the noise and pull out weak signals you would not hear with a lesser receiver, particularly on the bands that are using down coversion.

As for transmitting, I have a fairly recent vintage, and have not had any ALC overshoot issues with my set up. As for the weak punch/power out, I initially saw that the average SSB power out was a little low for a 100W PEP radio out of the box, although it did occassionally peak pretty close to 100W. Well, after working off and on for a while with all the settings, my average power our is now up around where I think it should be on SSB (normally 40-60 watts or so) and my voice peaks frequently hit 100W on external meters and on the rig's meters. The trick here had nothing to do whatsoever with using the service menus, although that isn't to say that some earlier production models may need that tweaking. Rather, it was understanding that this radio is sufficiently sophisticated in the audio department so as to require thinking of the average power out issue as part of a system consisting of the entire audio and RF out chains.

I use a Heil GM-Elite Mic. After some tinkering, I found settings that worked for me to accomplish a good power output setting with lots of punch, no distortion, and minimal ALC activiation. This involved adjusting numerous settings, including processor in, processor out, mic gain, and creating a custom transmit equalizer setting for my voice. The specific settings to use will vary with you voice and microphone. But, mine are as follows:

P. Input: 32
P. Output: 37
Mic Gain: 22 (note, as far as I can tell, with processor on, the radio uses the processor settings and the mic gain setting did not make a difference. With Processor off, the mic gain controls).
Equalizer:

0: 0
300: +1
600: +1
900: +2
1200: +5
1500: +5
1800: +5
2100: +3
2400: +1
2700: -1
3000: -5
(over this I just worked in an even curve down to -17 5100 - these are beyond the DSP transmit bandwitdt anyway and make little difference as far as I can tell)

My voice has a bit of bass in it, and not a lot of high overtones, so this will vary with others. Those with more high overtones or a stronger midrange will obviously need a different setting, and so on. But, fot me at least, this has resulted in a lot of good audio reports, and since I've been using these settings, no one has had any trouble understanding me, even if my signal is reported at the noise floor by the receiving end. This is true using both the "wide" setting and the "narrow" setting on the Heil Mic. Indeed, one of the challenges was getting a set of settings that required little to no adjustment regardless of which mic element I'm using. These seem to accomplish that, at least for me.

I also ran across a site where someone said reducing the CW and FSK carrier levels will help if you have an ALC overshoot. I did this just to see, and I noticed a slight decrease in the amount of ALC activation, although I don't seem to have the overshoot problem to start with.

In any event, I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that this is a great rig in its price class, with a great receiver and good transmitter.
G4PNF Rating: 2013-03-26
Getting better! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a return review as I have changed my opinion of the rig since I first reviewed it over a year ago.
The more I use this rig the more I like it especially for CW. As they all say it really has an excellent receiver and as a CW rig is just great to operate. The features like the auto tune, superb easily adjustable inbuilt keyer/display and sharp/flexible filtering are spot on. I also really like the separate RX antenna facility. The rig has clearly been very well thought through and has a pleasing robust feel to it.
However I did have serious issues with the transmit SSB signal and lack of "talk power" when comparing it on air with other rigs.
It now appears that my 590 may not have been quite up to par in the first place. I have recently had it checked over by a main UK Kenwood dealership. They found it necessary to adjust some of the settings on the service menu to bring it up to spec with their current stock of TS-590's and I find it is now considerably improved.
With a reasonable quality dynamic mic (the supplied fist mic does not do the rig any favours) and the right TX equaliser and processor set up my 590 can now put out a decent SSB signal with very good sounding audio. The reported transmitted SSB still does not have quite the punch/talk power when compared to the Icom rig I have in my shack but it is now not that far behind. I have also had excellent reports on the audio quality when using the rig in AM and FM modes.
I don't know if I was perhaps "unlucky" with my 590 but it could be an explanation for this problem being reported so often in some of the earlier production.
W5NM Rating: 2013-03-25
Fantastic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my TS-590 for almost 2 years. Sold my favorite Yaesu FT-1000mp MK5 Field to pay for it.
I have been a ham for 44 years and as I have been through a lot of radio's in my time and this radio has the best receiver I have ever owned. The Noise Blanker is BY FAR the best I have ever seen and that alone is reason to keep this radio a long time. For CW and digital modes this radio is outstanding with its
500Hz roofing filter. For SSB, I would say its talk power seems to be a little weaker than some, but audio quality is excellent. I love the combination of serial and USB ports and the fan is very quiet and rarely comes on. I have no fears of overheating his baby. I was constantly worrying about finals going bad with my Icom radio's so I gave them up. Been a Yaesu fan for a long time, but some of their radio's have some poor engineering also. Let's face it Kenwood Engineering is Awesome! Now if I can just figure out how to afford a new TS-990. Have a great day!
N0AH Rating: 2013-03-25
A Year Later....... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When I got this rig, I was told it was ready to go outside of the box- not true- you really need to take time for learning custom settings or you'll never appreciate just how custom you can set your audio tx and rx and filters- I have lost most of my high pitch hearing, but this rig allows me to make up for it with the audio settings- very FB! Like others have mentioned, the AT is amazing- much like my Yaesu FT900 which until the Kenwood TS590S, I did not think there was a rig with one that actually worked- In 2012,I worked 250 DXCC's and over 1,100 band countries- mostly CW.... this was the best year I ever had, and this was running without an amp- the reason for much of my success is ability to custom tune in weak signals with the filtering- In fact, I became so use to adjusting the filters with each QSO, I rarely left these settings in place- It became part of my operating- Most impressive was how the DSP setting allowed me to hear over the pole weak signals from zones 17 and 18 in the summer time on 20M- also, you often hear advertising that states this rig can pull weak signals right out of the noise, well, the TS590 can- But I can't stress this enough, what certain DSP settings did wonders for with some signals, the same setting might trash others, so using this radio and never taking advanatage of using the mix of possible settings for various signals, propagation, QRN, etc with the dsp settings is a waste of money- Its like driving a race car in first gear and never putting the tires on- so if you are new to the hobby, not sure if I would suggest this rig unless your experience builds with the radio's use- if not, you might write cheesy reviews whining about how the radio sounds this and that- As for some improvements, the only trouble I have is hitting certain buttons by mistake with my fat fingers- but that could be with any rig- I did buy the very affordable internal sound chip for PH recording messages- it was under $100 and easy to put in- I only run 100 watts, so can't speak for how well it works with an amp- and on the record, I hate the rig's internal meter measuring average power out on ph vs peak to peak- Also, wish the WARC bands had the same filtering as built in for the contest bands- but over-all, it works very well on the warc bands with what it has- its just amazing to me that these bands are considered of lessor importance- then again, it is pushed as a contest rig, right? Awesome radio- use with HRD and could not recommend it higher- especially if you are a low band nut like me- just awesome to hear on these bands with the DSP this radio has to offer-
N9ZI Rating: 2013-03-12
Fine Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had my TS-590 over 2 years and can say the received audio sounds outstanding on CW & SSB, so smooth, mellow, and natural sounding. I use the small SP30B Palstar speaker. On the transmitted audio have had nothing except outstanding reports, using a GM-5 Heil & the Kenwood set on HB1. I did have a TS-570S for several years, nice radio, however the receiver was not nearly as good as this 590. Also had a TS-480, which had a better receiver than the 570.
I am completely happy with the TS-590S.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N9ZI on 2010-10-16

Well - this is interesting - I purchased the radio from John - W5GI - my transmit audio findings have not been what he found on the same radio. I am using a Heil GM-5, transmit Eq to "C" conventional position and have been given outstanding audio reports including one report from a K2 who broke in and told me the audio was "absolutely magnificent" I really love this TS-590S - have been using it on both CW & SSB have not found one thing negative to say about it, it just works really well, sounds super on received audio. Also have a TS-850S that is a good radio with very good audio, but the TS-590S does have several more features. I also have had in the past: TS-570, TS-480, IC-746, FT-450, IC-7200, Argonaut. Very happy with the new Kenwood
G4YVM Rating: 2013-03-09
Fabulous CW rig. Really very very good on CW . Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Right, why a 4 not a 5? Because if this was a rig I bought for SSB I'd be unhappy with the received audio. It is harsh and digital, not at all easy on the ear. BUT, THIS IS A PERSONAL THING AND I KNOW MANY DO NOT AGREE. FINE. DON'T AGREE. BUT IT IS HOW I FIND IT.

What else is wrong? Well, why put the two user defined buttons, A and B, apart from each other? Also, whilst I like the multifunction rotary switch I do wish ALL the things it controls had been put together. So I guess ergonomically, theres a bit missing from this rig. Final gripe...no clock. I would really like a clock on the front panel.

Okay, so whats GOOD? EVERYTHING ELSE. This rig ROCKS when the going is tough. Excellent NB, IF filter down to 50Hz and that magic Kenwood NR2 that just POPs! CW signals out of the noise.

I have also failed terribly to find anything this rig's ATU wont tune. I wish it tuned automatically on key down (maybe it does and I havent set it) because if you hop around aerials it can catch you out.

Bottom line is this: under normal conditions this rig is just another rig, but under hard condx when you are chasing very weak cw in QRM / QRN then you wont find a better radio.

I have tested it under shack condx next to a K2 and there's no difference in performance at all. I also used a Kenwood TS570 for a while prior to buying this one and there's very little difference. If I was on a budget, I'd buy the 570 and be VERY happy. The 590 is just newer and shinier and the DSP is very very effective.

I love it. Its great.
KA4DPO Rating: 2013-02-10
Exceptional receiver for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have completed a side by side comparison of the TS-590 and the K3 and frankly I cant tell the difference between the two radios on recieve. I also did not notice any overshoot on transmit that would preclude the use of a linear amp, the output is clean but as one poster indicated the audio is a bit thin which is unusual for a Kenwood rig. On CW it can hold it's own against rigs costing much more.

N4JA wrote: Sorry, but I goofed. My report about the unwanted sideband supression is correct. My TS-2000 has better unwanted sideband supression. I only knew about it because one guy I talk to regulary has a K3 with the optional P3 and he can see my other sideband on the P3. He brags about not seeing the unwanted sideband on the other K3's on frequency.

Sorry but your friend is fooling with you. The carrier and unwanted sideband on my rig are 62db and 55db respectively, the unwanted sideband on the K3 that I checked was 52db and the spec is 50db which is no better than the TS-590 so wither you got a bad radio or your buddy suffers from K3 itis where all rigs are completely inferior in every respect even if they are not.

The TS-590s is a fantastic little rig for the price and the only gripe is the less than stout audio signal even with 6db of processing. I would recommend this adio to anyone looking for a rig with a serious receiver.
KG0MN Rating: 2013-02-06
Great little radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the second time around for me with the 590, I sold my first one to get a Yaseu FT-950 so I could run it with SDR. It took me about one day to figure out that I had made a mistake and should have kept the 590. I like the fact that I can use the USB connection to do all of my data modes without the need of purchasing a data box. I have also found that the 590 handles QRM far better than the 950. I am hampered at times for a local hospitals MRI machine and when it was in use with the 950, I would turn the radio off and give up. The 590 on the other hand handles it far better and I can still make contacts with the lose of signal.
N5FW Rating: 2013-01-23
Just can't be beat for the money! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Wow, time flies! I have had my TS-590 for over 2 years. In my previous review, I stated I have owned many Kenwood rigs. This one still outshines them all. This will end up a classic radio for Kenwood. I have been happily chugging along with great audio reports (just use the Kenwood MC-60 mic), and great reception for the past 2 years. Better rigs, sure...if you want to pay 5-12k!!
G0PTS Rating: 2013-01-22
Great CW rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a return review after having operated the TS-590 for 18 months.
Yes it is a great receiver and very nice radio to operate. As stated before I really like the CW performance and features like CW auto tune.
However the much reported issue with this rig is the SSB transmit power. I have done numerous tests and tried a variety of different settings for the audio. The audio tailoring (EQ) enables really excellent quality audio to be generated especially with a better mic than the one supplied. The 590 does put out around 100 watts PEP (measurable on a decent external meter) but for some reason the transmitted signal is a bit thin and lacking in "talk power" when the going gets rough. It helps to wind up the processor but even then I suspect the transmitted signal is less robust than many other 100 watt rigs.
However despite this shortcoming it is still a very nice rig indeed especially for CW and digi modes.