so ive been running an RTL-SDR v4 dongle for about 8 months now, mostly just scanning trunked systems with SDRTrunk and doing some NOAA weather satellite stuff with WXtoImg. honestly the v4 has been way better than the old generic dongles i used to mess with, no complaints really. but i keep seeing people talk up the SDRplay units and im wondering if the jump to like $130-ish for the RSP1B is actually worth it or if im just going to end up with the same experience and a lighter wallet.

the main things i care about are dynamic range and not having to deal with broadcast FM birdies wiping out everything around 88-108. the v4 handles it better than older dongles but when im trying to pull in weak stuff near there it still gets ugly. also occasionally poke around HF with a long wire which the v4 does okay at but nothing to write home about.

anyone actually run both side by side? curious if the SDRplay software (SDRuno i think?) is any good or if everyone just uses it with SDR# or GQRX anyway. dont want to drop the money and find out the improvement is like 3db and i convinced myself it was amazing because of buyers bias.

ran an RSP1A before the B came out, and before that had an RTL-SDR for a couple years. the difference in dynamic range is real, not imaginary. near strong broadcast FM stuff you'll notice it pretty quick especially if youre trying to work anything in the 160-10m range on HF. the RSP1B added the notch filters for MW and FM broadcast and that alone made a noticeable difference for me on 40m at night when the AM broadcast band is going crazy.

SDRuno is honestly fine, its gotten better over the years but i mainly use it with SDR# via the ExtIO plugin just because im used to the interface. GQRX works too if youre on linux. the API is solid and most of the major software supports it now so you wont be locked in.

that said if youre happy with the v4 for trunked scanning and NOAA there might not be a huge urgency. where youll really notice the RSP1B is HF and anything where you've got a strong nearby signal killing dynamic range. if thats bothering you now then yeah its worth the jump, if its not really an issue then save the money.

i have both sitting on my desk right now lol. the RTL v4 is what i grab when i just want to throw something quick at a VHF problem or let my kid mess around with it. the SDRplay is what i use when i actually care about what im receiving. for HF especially there's no contest, the front end on the RTL just gets walked all over when theres anything strong nearby. the RSP1B with the FM notch is noticeably cleaner in that regard.

one thing nobody mentions is the 12-bit ADC vs the RTLs 8-bit makes a real difference in how crowded bands look on the waterfall, theres just more usable dynamic range before things start compressing and looking weird. whether that matters for your use case i dunno but for me on 40 and 80m it matters a lot.