so ive been using an rtl-sdr dongle for a while now and thinking about upgrading to something better. narrowed it down to hackrf one or sdrplay rsp1a but cant decide which way to go. mainly interested in HF listening, some VHF/UHF stuff, maybe mess around with gqrx or sdr# when i get time. hackrf seems more hackable but sdrplay has better specs on paper. anyone use both and have opinions?

I've had both for about 2 years now. For just listening the SDRplay is gonna be way better, especially on HF. The hackrf is fun to play with but honestly for receive only the rsp1a blows it away. Much better dynamic range and the software support is pretty solid. Only get the hackrf if you plan on doing transmit experiments or really want the full duplex capability

yeah i started with rtl dongles too and went straight to hackrf thinking id do more tx stuff but ended up mostly just listening anyway. wish id gotten the sdrplay first tbh, would have saved some money. the hackrf is neat but kinda overkill if your not doing anything fancy with it. plus the rsp1a draws way less power which is nice for portable ops