I know there are several folks around here who deal with very complex intercom systems on a daily basis. However, for the basic system setups (<8 channels), are the usual suspects still Clear Com and Pro Intercom, or are there other systems out there that should be considered?
The 2 most common systems are Clear Com and RTS. They are both analog 2 wire systems. RTS is a 2ch over 1 wire system, Clear Com is 1 ch over 1 wire unless you use a TW adapter that basically makes it like RTS. If you want 2ch stations, RTS with its SAP dial up system is much easier to use.
On the digital front there is the Reidel Performer system which is 2ch over a single cable, but the cable must be AES compatible, regular mic cable is highly not recommended. A new digital system from Clear Com is Helix. Helix is a network system that can be 4-20 channels, and all cables carry all channels, you dial up the channels a particular station get is done at the belt pack.
There is information about all of these on the manufacturer's websites.
Mac