so ive been using a cheap RTL-SDR v3 dongle for about a year now, mostly just scanning trunked systems locally and poking around the HF bands with the direct sampling mode. it works, dont get me wrong, but the HF performance is pretty underwhelming and i keep reading that the direct sampling hack is kind of a bandaid compared to a real HF-capable receiver.

been looking at the SDRplay RSP1B which is like $110 or so and supposedly has way better dynamic range and proper HF coverage without needing an upconverter. has anyone actually done a side by side? im wondering if the difference is noticeable enough to justify it or if i should just grab a SpyVerter and call it a day. also running SDR# on windows 10 and the RSP1 apparently needs SDRuno which ive heard mixed things about. does it play nice with SDR# or HDSDR or is it locked into their software

the RSP1B is a solid step up from the dongle for HF, no question. dynamic range is noticeably better especially if you're anywhere near broadcast AM stations, those will just completely wipe out adjacent frequencies on the RTL in direct sampling mode. i went through the same thought process and ended up getting the RSP1A a couple years back (basically same thing, RSP1B just added the notch filters) and it was worth it for serious HF work.

on the software side — SDRuno is fine but yeah it looks like someone designed it in 2003 and never touched the UI since. the good news is there's an ExtIO plugin that lets you use it with HDSDR and that works pretty well. SDR# support is spotty and kind of depends on which version you're running, the older stable builds tend to work better than the cutting edge ones. if you're into decoding stuff like WSPR or FT8 the RSP1B plays nicely with WSJT-X via virtual audio cable same as any other SDR so that part isnt a problem.

honestly for just HF monitoring the SpyVerter route with your existing dongle might get you 80% of the way there for way less money. i ran that combo for a while before eventually upgrading to a HackRF and the upconverter setup was pretty decent on the lower HF bands. above 15 MHz or so it started getting a bit rough but for 40 and 80 meter listening it was fine.

that said if you're serious about it the SDRplay is just a cleaner solution, less cables, no image frequencies to deal with, and the IF gain stages actually give you something useful to work with when strong signals are nearby. i just wouldnt call it a dramatic night and day difference on a decent antenna, more like going from good enough to actually good.