Headset-only intercoms like the Solidcom C1 and SE cover most small crews. You move up to a beltpack system — a base station plus a beltpack and wired headset for each person — when the crew is spread across a venue, the system has to talk to a wired intercom, or batteries have to last a full show. Hollyland makes two of these: the Solidcom M1 and the Solidcom M1 Pro.

Both are full-duplex on 1.9GHz, so everyone talks and listens at the same time with no push-to-talk delay, and both come in 4- and 8-beltpack kits with single-ear or double-ear headsets. Where they differ is what each one is optimised for.

Solidcom M1 is built to join the intercom you already have. Solidcom M1 Pro is built to be the whole system — quieter, with groups and swappable batteries.

Price by kit

Side by side

Solidcom M1: when there is already a wired intercom

Theatres, churches and broadcast facilities often have a wired party-line or matrix intercom that is staying put. The M1’s base station has 2-wire and 4-wire interfaces so the wireless beltpacks join that system instead of running beside it — the stage manager on the wired panel and the crew on wireless beltpacks are on the same call.

Its other strength is rigging time. The built-in panel antenna covers the room straight from the base station, with no mast or coax to run, and external antennas are included for venues that need them. Raising or lowering the mic boom switches between talk and mute.

FOR FACILITIES WITH A WIRED SYSTEM

Solidcom M1 8B (8 Beltpacks) — $6,999

Eight beltpacks, 2-wire and 4-wire interfaces, built-in panel antenna, app or browser setup.

See the Solidcom M1 8B →

Solidcom M1 Pro: when the room is loud and the show is long

The M1 Pro adds the same dual-mic ENC found on the C1 Pro headsets, cutting up to 20dB of background noise from each beltpack mic, so a crew member beside a speaker stack does not push that noise into everyone else’s ear. Automatic frequency hopping keeps the link stable in crowded RF.

Battery logistics are better thought out too. Every BPK02 beltpack gets two swappable packs (the 8-beltpack kit ships with 16), each good for about six hours, and the charging base refills a full set in around 2.5 hours. Swap packs at the interval and the show never stops. Group Talk splits the crew into up to three groups — camera, lighting and stage, for example — even across cascaded base stations.

FOR LIVE EVENTS AND WORSHIP

Solidcom M1 Pro 4B (4 Beltpacks) — $4,799

Four ENC beltpacks, eight swappable batteries, 1,300ft line of sight, hard-shell case.

See the Solidcom M1 Pro 4B →

Single-ear or double-ear?

The -DH kits swap single-ear headsets for double-ear ones that isolate both ears. On a quiet set, single-ear is better — operators need to hear the room. On a concert stage, a racetrack or a factory floor, double-ear is what lets people hear the call instead of the crowd. On the M1 Pro, the 4-beltpack DH kit costs $200 more than the single-ear kit.

Quick decision

• You must tie into an existing 2-wire or 4-wire intercom: Solidcom M1.
• Loud venue, long shows, several departments: Solidcom M1 Pro.
• Crowd noise, music or engines in the room: either system, in the -DH version.
• Crew of eight or fewer who never leave the set: look at headset-only kits first — see Solidcom C1 vs C1 Pro.

Comparing every intercom tier? Read our wireless intercom buying guide. Need more beltpacks or coverage later? See how to grow a Solidcom system.