The 570S sounds good, but the 690S sounds richer especially in AM. One thing I can say for the 690s is that it still sounds better when you have space for a wide filter. If you are on a budget and want a rig loaded with features, this is it. While it's not the prettiest radio, it really performs. I tried this in the worst pileup I've ever heard and still I was able to pull out a single signal from the pile without AGC pumping. This works extremely well in SSB and so well in fact that you could entirely get away without a narrowing band IF filter.

An IF filter can also be added to help with nearby strong signals, but I found turning AF gain all the way up, and using only RF gain to control volume works great to disable AGC. The digital filter for CW mode has adjustable band pass simulating multiple IF filters. The 570 on the other hand has infinitely adjustable digital filter skirts which can be moved on each side narrowing the band pass down to almost nothing. I discovered that while the DSP will not magically make weak signals clearer, it will take voice that IS copyable but buried down in the noise, and strip away that noise.Īlso, my 690s has 4 filter settings, 12k, 6k, 2.4k, and 500hz. It was clear that if I couldn't copy a weak signal, DSP wasn't going to magically make it copyable.īut then, something magic happened. The DSP didn't seem to pull anything out of the noise that I couldn't hear without it and in most cases made it worse. it's kinda 90's ugly (ie black rubber) and bland. I saw a 570SG pop up, and these are sort of rare so I purchased it. I have a love affair with older kenwoods, you know the beautiful high contrast led displays, like the 450S, TS-690S.īut, I longed for the built in keyer, auto cw zero beat, and DSP. You know, I resisted this radio for years. Not the prettiest radio but packed with features!

Kenwood ts570sg manual