CI-Uniti 102

The Naim CI-Uniti 102 is the custom installation version of Naim’s Uniti streaming amplifier. It does the same job as the familiar Uniti Atom, without the display and the volume dial, because it is designed to live in a rack cupboard rather than on a shelf.

It delivers 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms and includes streaming for TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, UPnP, internet radio, Chromecast, Bluetooth and AirPlay 2. Rack ears are supplied in the box.

What Apple Home actually does with it

This is an AirPlay 2 device rather than a HomeKit accessory.

• It shows up in the Home app as a speaker you can play to, and as an AirPlay target in Control Centre.
• You can assign it to a room and group it with HomePods for synchronised multi-room audio.
• Siri can send music to it by room name.
• It can be the audio output in a scene or an automation.

It is not an accessory you switch on or set the volume of from the Home app. Power, input selection and volume stay with the unit, its remote and its own app.

Why installers specify it

Naim provides control drivers for Crestron, Control4, RTI, Savant and Elan. That is what separates a custom install product from a retail one: it can be driven by a wall keypad or a touch panel as part of a whole-house system, rather than only by an app.

Before you buy

If the amplifier is going to sit in the room where you listen, and you want to see and touch it, the standard Uniti range is the better buy. The CI model gives up the interface deliberately.

The Focal & Naim app handles setup and everyday control.

Specifications