The Solidcom C1 and Solidcom C1 Pro are the two most popular headset intercoms Hollyland makes, and they share almost everything: self-contained headsets with no beltpack or cables, full-duplex 1.9GHz DECT so everyone can talk and listen at once, up to 1,100ft (350m) line-of-sight range, 150Hz–7kHz wideband audio and the same 700mAh batteries.

The difference is one feature — and whether you need it depends almost entirely on how loud your working environment is.

The one real difference: noise cancellation

The C1 Pro adds dual-mic Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) that removes up to 20dB of background noise from each headset microphone. The C1 has acoustic echo cancellation, but not ENC.

In practice: on a quiet film set, in a classroom or a small studio, the C1 sounds just as clear. At a concert, a sports venue, a church with a full band, or next to a generator, the C1 sends that noise into every other headset on the channel. That is the situation the C1 Pro is built for.

Quiet room: Solidcom C1. Loud room: Solidcom C1 Pro. Most of the decision is that simple.

Price by crew size

Every kit has one master headset (red nameplate) and the rest are remote headsets (blue nameplate), with a charging case and storage case in the box.

Side by side

Solidcom C1: when the room is quiet

At $399 for two people, the Solidcom C1 2S is one of the least expensive ways to put a full-duplex wireless headset on a director and a camera operator. The headsets auto-pair out of the box, weigh about 168g, and come with both on-ear and over-ear cushions. Raising the mic boom mutes the headset automatically, which is the fastest mute there is.

One practical detail from the box contents: the larger kits include two batteries per headset (the 4-person kit ships with eight), so one set charges while the other works.

BEST VALUE FOR SMALL CREWS

Solidcom C1 4S (4-Person) — $799

Four headsets, eight batteries, 1,100ft range, auto-pairing out of the box.

See the Solidcom C1 4S →

Solidcom C1 Pro: when the room is loud

The Solidcom C1 Pro 4S keeps the same wireless design and adds dual-mic ENC plus a push-to-talk button. Because it is back-compatible with the C1, a crew that already owns C1 headsets can add C1 Pro units for the people standing in the loudest positions — front of house, the stage edge, the camera beside the speaker stack.

FOR LIVE EVENTS

Solidcom C1 Pro 4S (4-Person) — $1,299

Dual-mic ENC up to 20dB, four headsets, eight batteries, push-to-talk.

See the Solidcom C1 Pro 4S →

Two C1 Pro versions worth knowing about

Double-ear. The C1 Pro 4S-DH replaces the single-ear headsets with double-ear ones (~250g) that isolate both ears. On a loud stage or in broadcast, where hearing every cue matters more than hearing the room, that is worth the $100 over the standard 4S.

With a hub. The C1 Pro Hub4S and C1 Pro Hub8S add a hub base station. The hub can run on PoE or NP-F, V-mount or G-mount batteries, and up to three hub systems can be cascaded over an IP network for larger teams. Choose a hub system for permanent installs — a church, a studio, a venue — where the system stays in one place and the director works from a fixed position.

Quick decision

• Film set, studio, classroom, small team: Solidcom C1.
• Concert, sports, worship with a band, anywhere loud: Solidcom C1 Pro.
• Loud stage where cues must not be missed: C1 Pro 4S-DH (double-ear).
• Fixed install, director at a desk, larger team: C1 Pro Hub4S or Hub8S.

Comparing with Hollyland’s other self-contained headsets? See Solidcom SE vs SE 2 vs SE Pro. For beltpack systems and larger crews, read our wireless intercom buying guide, and for multi-camera shows add a wireless tally system.