k3 vs 590 take 1

A simple look at the audio differences between the Elecraft K3 and the Kenwood TS-590S. Recorded the West Coast Swap Service on 30-June-2012. If filters were basically set at the same levels. Thanks for watching and listening! Ken - wz6p

[@kennymac64]

Hey all, I'm grateful for all the valued commentary. I'd like to reiterate my reasoning for this comparison. Audio quality is intimately associated with speaker and enclosure design. DSP and EQ settings aside, the quality of the speaker design/assembly is the last hoop that the sound needs to jump through. Quite frankly, the K3 speaker assembly is pedestrian at best. The 590 speaker assembly is much tighter. Thus the out of box experience favors the 590. External speakers were employed to even the playing field. Maybe I should have clarified that this is an audio quality comparison only. All in all, I love both rigs and enjoy them immensely. 73, Ken

[@MrAlphacallsign]

the k 3 isn't a super radio the 590 will do the same and the 590 is a solid rig, the problem some hams want to have something different but the only different is they will be paying possible 1500. to 2,000 more, with 1,389.00 kenwood will save you a lot of money and still will give you one of the best radio in the market

[@erintaylor5856]

K3 advantages. Significantly better BDR on ALL bands, more roofing filter options, and better roofing filter quality. Sub receiver that is equal performance to the main receiver. Not even the 990 can claim that. The best internal antenna tuner of any manufacturer. Matches 10:1 loads in seconds. The 590 has been plagued by issues that have only recently been solved. The 590 is a good radio, but its not in any way a K3 killer. It has a weird design where only a couple of bands are down conversion, and the other bands are up conversion. So its blocking dynamic range, which never comes close to the K3, is only available on a few bands, and the radio's receiver is mediocre otherwise. You cannot go by the fact that the internal speaker sounds better on the 590. Thats not a criteria. Also, the K3 SSB audio will match any Kenwood if you take the time to EQ it to the microphone you want. It has all kinds of options for setting gain stages and whether you need phantom power or not. So the 590 is great, but in hard core environments, or for serious code heads, theres no competition. K3 hands down. Harsh sound is the internal speaker on the K3. Take the time to set it up. Its not an out of the box plug and play rig. You need to think about how you want it set up. Truly amazing radio.

[@erintaylor5856]

Erin Taylor Oh yeah, way better QSK, Noise reduction and on and on. I tell you what. Get a signal 500 HZ away on CW, 20 over, and then compare the two rigs. The 590 will block and lose resolution. The K3 will not even flinch. Why? Because you don't have factory establish, unchangeable roofing filters. And the roofing filters are not always in the first IF. In a K3, the roofing filters are ALWAYS in the first IF. Basically the Kenwood is a turn it on and operate radio. Its for those who like warm, inarticulate, high fidelity sound all the time. The K3 can be beautifully wide open and high fidelity, but can also be a QRM, narrow, dig a signal out of the crud radio, whist being blasted by someone nearby. Say what you will, but of you look at the technology, the K3 and the 590 are just simply different classes of radio. Its not a subject for debate. You get what you pay for. Only Yaesu can rival its RX process, and only with one radio. The FTDX5000. Even then, the Sub RX is inferior. Kenwood, or Icom, at any price, cannot match the K3 RX. Not at any price. The 990 comes close, but does't get there, and the sub RX is completely inferior. hehe. Its a 590.

[@MrAlphacallsign]

Erin Taylor NO YOU'RE RIGHT KX3 IS A GOOD RADIO BUT MY POINT IS YOU DON'T NEED ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES FOR MAKE A CONTACT GOOD EXAMPLE IS A LOT OF HAM THEY DO QRP AND THEY ONLY USE A YAESU 817 BUT FOR THE PRICE IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. IF I WILL BUY A KX3 I DON'T THING SO I DON'T NEED ALL THE EXTRA FOR MAKE A CONTACT. WHEN I USE THE YAESU 817ND AND MAKE A CONTACT I FEEL HAPPY IN A COUPLE OF HOUR I WORK 20 STATION OR MORE, BUT THATS MY POINT A LOT OF HAM IN MY CLUB THEY AGREE THE KX3 IS TO MUCH MONEY FOR WHAT IT IS FOR THEY AGREE WITH THE YAESU 817ND IS OK. I SAW IN KZbin KX3 VS 817 ON RECEIVEING AND IS NOT TO MUCH DIFFRENT. BUT 1,800 HUNDRED DOLAR VS 644.00 FOR MAKE A CONTACT WOW. SAME HAPPEN WITH THE BASE RADIO 10,000 DOLLAR , A LOT OF HAM THEY'RE FIND WITH A KENWOOD TS 2000 OR A ICOM 7600. I SAID THIS BECAUSE WE MAKE A TEST WITH A KX3 VS 817 AND IS NOT TO MUCH DIFFRENT ON RECEIVING ON SSB THE YAESU DO SAME JOB THAN THE KX3 BUT ON CW THE KX3 IS MUCH BETTER. ANYWAY BOTH ARE GOOD RIGS OK GOD BLESS YOU 73'

[@MrAlphacallsign]

CHECK ON KZbin JIM MULLEN VIDEO PART 1 AND PART 2 KX3 VS FT-817 I THING THE BIG DIFFERENT IS ON THE K3 BUT THE KX3 IS NEW IN THE MARKET BUT I KNOW ELECRAFT WILL MAKE THE KX3 WORK BETTER BUT IS A GOOD RADIO

[@erintaylor5856]

w8mpx The 817 is a joke. A poor performer that is overloaded by a tick farting 2 miles away. These comparisons astound me. The 590Sg put up some good number, but only in the bands where down conversion is used. Elecraft didn't re-invent the wheel, they just engineered the rig correctly. What Kenwood choses to have this odd hybrid of up and down conversion escapes me.

[@AdiToplician]

It will be nice to see a CW comparison also. Best wishes! 73!

[@jabcam634]

Interesting comparison! The K3 has a bit harsher sound, while I think the 590 has too much "wool" in the way. My absolute favourite is a Tentec Jupiter, that radio has practically no sound of its own, can listen to it for hours with or without headphones. At home I feed the audio to a 15" speaker in a box. Love it!

[@erintaylor5856]

Internal speaker and out of the box is not the way to listen to a K3, or any radio for that matter. You need to learn how to taylor these powerful radios to your liking.. You would be astounded on the TX and RX audio the K3 can produce. It can make anyone happy with RX audio if they spend a few minutes setting it up right. And it eats the Jupiter for breakfast in RX performance.

[@erintaylor5856]

K3 has great XMIT audio. It can work with any mic made by anyone.very powerful EQ and impedance switching right form the menu. Superior RX blocking dynamic range, dual receive, and tech support Kenwood could only dream of. Comparing internal speakers is not a review. I like the 590, but they really aren't in the same league.

[@davidisraelyan5017]

lol, the 590 blew it away, much stronger signal with a quieter noise floor!

[@erintaylor5856]

Oh? What was that noise floor exactly? Or maybe it was the EQ of the noise? yes, it was the EQ of the noise. That can be tweaked.

[@kennymac64]

Comparing of internal speakers is most definitely a review, If you care about audio 'out of the box'. I agree that you can do many things with K3 audio. But, the 590 is built like a tank and feels solid. The K3 has a hollow feel, especially when you compare it's weight to the 590's. The beauty of our hobbie is in the details that appeal to each one of us. Two great rigs!

[@howardbowen8565]

notice he kept adjusting frequency to keep k3 on correct freq. where 590 stayed put

[@ksb2112]

That is not what is happening. When he adjusts the sound he is bumping the main dial with the back of his hand. He does it twice.

[@kennymac64]

Why 'Wish' that reviews would stop? Reviews are what keep the engine of creativity oiled!

[@erintaylor5856]

590 not in the same league, but its a pretty good rig. K3 better in almost every category and can be made to sound rx and tx as good as anything out there. 590 s a mid class rig. K3 is a competition class rig. Nothing wrong with either of them, but when hammered by adjacent signals, simply no comparison

[@davidisraelyan5017]

lol, what video were you watching, the receive was twice as good on the 590sg... you must own the over priced K3 haha

[@erintaylor5856]

What part of watching this video gave you any quantitative clue which receiver is better? I am glad you are not working at the Sherwood lab. You would just say "this one sounds better" SMH

[@kennymac64]

Erin, do you really need to keep stabbing at this comparison? I never claimed this as a professional comparison. It was simply an audio quality compare for the average person that loves radio. You might want to move on....

[@erintaylor5856]

ken mcmahon Thank you for your honestly.

[@radionb3i]

We buy k3s to reject adjacent multiple stations on field day or otherwise. No comparison.... I don't know anyone who listens to radios with rf wide open.

[@slbynum]

As far as audio quality goes, the 590 has a nice smoother sound to it. A better test would be using the same external speaker. Kenwood SSB RX and TX has always been hard to beat.

[@1ndomitus]

Receiver tests are kind of useless unless you use the same speaker, otherwise it's confusing to the ear to listen for more than just tone quality.

[@Daniel-jy4fj]

Hi , Czy obydwa TRX były porównywane na tej samej antenie...? Czy do każdego była podpięta inna antena?? 73 Daniel

[@9M2PJU]

ya. we must compare the CW receptions too

[@d.l.fender7386]

I'd like to hear the 590 from the other side.

[@iceman382]

Kenwood TS-590S sounds better.

[@kennymac64]

Guys! Lighten up! Take it for what its worth. No need to wig out. A simple comparison between two great rigs. If you have a better comparison, bring it. Otherwise Hush! No more and no less! -WZ6P

[@1ndomitus]

There's our buddy Dennis the Lazy Zipper Whipper - lol

[@valeristefanov1536]

ATT is ON on K3 and it's not on 590S ?

[@cbureriu]

so basically K3 is better if you already have a K3 and want to stick to it forever

[@eogg25]

I have the K2/100 and I like it. it has excellent sound but I had a Knwd ts 570 and I liked it also and menue wise much easier to operate. I would love to have the 590. Ten tec eagle is also a good rig. I like easy to operate rigs but if heavy radio's turn you on get a knwd. if beauty and lots of buttons turns you on get a yaesu. I am addressing some of the other comments.73

[@TomZentra]

The test is flawed. By using an external speaker and/or a mixer any radio can deliver excellent audio. Using the internal speaker alone is for portable operation. Headphones can also provide excellent audio.

[@yaesuicomkenwood]

Nice video, like to see more of this. For me, the TS-590 sounds better. But I don't have any of this. 73 es Mark from Bavaria

[@Mike201244]

George, look page 23 K3 manual, you are wrong. 73

[@flatheadfletch]

What power supply do you have on each ?

[@kennymac64]

Astron RS-20A

[@flatheadfletch]

ken mcmahon Thank you sir !!!

[@yaesuicomkenwood]

why not comparison a 1500$ to a 3000$ transceiver? And find out, the 1500$ rig wins !! 73 es Mark

[@cbureriu]

more like a $1300 rig - the ts590

[@petchharrison]

i like the 590 as for the k3 it does not seem to have such a nice tone,how ever not much in it .. jeff .. m0prf ..

[@erintaylor5856]

Stop listening to internal speakers. It has amazing transmit and RX tone.

[@133Gordini]

I wish people would stop comparing the 590 and k3. I have both radios and can say the k3 is in a different league. . A VW Golf will do the same thing as a Kia but the Golf will always do it better because thats how it is..The same as the K3. The 590 is a very good radio radio but the k3 is a superb radio.

[@davidisraelyan5017]

What video were you watching, lol

[@davidisraelyan5017]

590sg hands down quieter noise floor with stronger signal, K3 is noisy and hard to hear!

[@georgeivolga969]

The comparison isn't correct! Elecraft K3 worked with ATT turned ON. Kenwood TS-590S ATT turned OFF. George UT5YY

[@revadan]

saved me a lot on 590SG..

[@Sky1]

Man that 590s works!

[@shepvz]

У к3-го АТТ включен, а у 590-го нет.

[@0ndrous]

No argument here!

[@omrodo]

try listening without looking, there is a huge difference ... 590 much better

[@IronManXXX]

590 is much more affordable and less menu driven, and hears every bit as good as the K3....both are good, but I would do the 590...much much more affordable..

[@cbureriu]

590 beats the pants off

[@0ndrous]

Bullseye!

[@dm4kj916]

ts 590 wins

[@kevindarrah1969]

590 is much better