There are no real reasons why a modern SDR couldn’t outperform an old design hardware radio, although raw performance doesn’t necessarily mean a better radio to use and listen to.
With the right software it can be easier. My AirSpy R2 using DSD+ does far better than the DSD200 I have when looking at trunked systems, both in performance and analyzing the system (not just raw performance. If one has never took the time to use a good SDR and learn the software, one does not know what one is missing. I am sitting next to an SDS200 (just to listen to the local FD in the background), an ICOM R9500 (which I got years ago for only $9000), and ICOM R8600, AirSpy R2, AirSpy HF+ Discovery, AOR AR-3000A, and an AOR AR-DV1. Normally , the AirSpy's (other than the SDS200 for local FD), are the only two I actually now use on a regular basis. The AirSpy R2 with DSD+ can do every digital voice mode that my AR-DV1 and do and do them better. There are things an SDR can do (even the cheap ones),like a *good* waterfall display, that nothing else can do. Everyone I know, even old retired hams with money and many HF receivers are shocked by what the AirSpy HF+ Discovery could do and its performance. And then there is the SDRPlay (whihc HRO sell). With it one SDR will cover what the AirSpy R2 for VHF/UHF and the AirSpy HF+ Discovery will do in one radio for less money, but I find the AirSpy's perform better and still it is less that $400 for both AirSpy's. I consider those who do not have and SDR or who have not tried one to be dinosaurs. True, they do require a Windows PC or laptop and there is an initial learning curve.
