Naim CI Uniti 102: The Atom's Powerful, Screen-Less Sibling

I went looking at the Naim Uniti Atom for a future upgrade and stumbled onto something more interesting buried in Naim’s custom-install (CI) catalog: the CI Uniti 102. On paper it reads like a stealth audiophile play, most of the Atom’s streaming brains, far more muscle, room EQ on board, and none of the retail polish you pay extra for. So is it the smart-money Naim? Here’s what the spec sheet actually says.

What the CI Uniti 102 is

It’s a streaming integrated amplifier built for custom installation, the world of integrators wiring up whole-home and dedicated listening systems. That channel matters (more on that below), but the hardware is pure Naim streaming amp.

The specs that caught my eye

• Power: 150W into 8Ω (260W into 4Ω). That’s nearly four times the Atom’s 40W, enough to drive demanding speakers the Atom would struggle with.
• Full streaming: TIDAL & TIDAL Connect, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, UPnP, and internet radio.
• Built-in room processing (PEQ). Via Focal & Naim Manager software it offers speaker profiles, on-site EQ, and limiters, a real room-correction tool the standard Uniti range doesn’t expose.
• Modern connectivity: HDMI eARC (up to 192kHz/24-bit), S/PDIF, analog RCA in, two sub/aux outputs, Bluetooth, and Ethernet / Wi-Fi 6.
• App + automation control: the Focal & Naim app (iOS/Android), plus Control4, Crestron, Elan, RTI, and Savant.
• Ultra-compact and rack-mountable (30 × 4.45 × 30 cm), and crucially, no display screen.

CI Uniti 102 vs Uniti Atom, the real trade-off

This is the heart of it. Versus the Uniti Atom:

	CI Uniti 102	Uniti Atom
Power	150W / 8Ω	40W / 8Ω
Room EQ / PEQ	Yes (Focal & Naim Manager)	No
Display screen	No	Yes (5″ colour)
Control	App + automation systems	App + remote + screen
Sold through	Custom-install dealers	Retail

So you trade the Atom’s beautiful screen and retail experience for a lot more power and built-in room correction. For someone who controls everything from their phone anyway and wants Naim sound that can actually drive bigger speakers, that’s a compelling swap.

The catch: it’s a custom-install product

Don’t overlook this. CI products are sold and configured through custom-install dealers, not your typical hi-fi shop. That can mean a different buying path, dealer setup, harder auditioning, and a support/warranty route worth understanding before you commit. Naim also doesn’t publish a public retail price, pricing typically comes through the dealer.

So, is it the smart-money Naim?

On the spec sheet, the CI Uniti 102 is genuinely intriguing: Naim streaming, ~4x the Atom’s power, and real room EQ, in a compact box, if you can live without the screen and navigate the custom-install channel. I haven’t heard one yet (this is a research piece, not a hands-on review), but it’s firmly on my shortlist to investigate. If you’re weighing a Naim all-in-one and value power and room correction over a pretty display, it deserves a hard look.

For the screen-and-experience version, my Naim Uniti Atom review covers the one I actually own.

Product image: Naim Audio.