Naim has a streaming amplifier that makes 150 watts into 8 ohms and costs $1,799. It is called the CI-Uniti 102, the CI stands for custom install, and it is meant to live in a cupboard.
Here is why that number matters. The most powerful Uniti in our database is the Uniti Nova Power Edition, and it also makes 150 watts into 8 ohms. It costs $9,999.
The odd part is that this is not news. Naim released the 102 in February 2025. It has been quietly on sale for a year and a half, in the part of the catalogue that hi-fi sites do not cover, which is why you are probably reading about it for the first time now.
Naim CI-Uniti 102 streaming amplifier
Quick facts
- 150W into 8 ohms, 260W into 4, from Naim's own spec sheet.
- $1,799 in the US. The Uniti Atom is $3,799 and makes 40W.
- No display, no volume knob, no headphone socket.
- 1U, 4.5 kg, HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, gigabit Ethernet, one RCA input.
I found this through ecoustics' review, and the reviewer makes the same point about the Atom that I am about to make with our data. So the argument is not mine. The table underneath it is. We added the 102 to the database today, so every figure below now comes off our own rows.
What Naim actually built
Look at the picture again. There is no screen. There is no volume control. There is a naim logo, two small indicator lights and a power button, on a flat black slab that is 44.5 mm tall and weighs 4.5 kg.
That is deliberate. This is a custom install product, so it ships with rack ears, it takes 12V triggers, and it talks to Control4, Crestron, Elan, RTI and Savant. An installer bolts it into a rack, and the owner never sees it.
Naim CI-Uniti 102 with rack mount brackets fitted
It is also a proper streamer. AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Bluetooth 5.1, UPnP, internet radio, TIDAL, Qobuz and Spotify Connect, over gigabit ethernet or 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi 6, up to 32-bit/384kHz. It even takes audio off a Dante network, which almost nothing at this price does.
Naim CI-Uniti 102 Key Specs
- 150W into 8 ohms, 260W into 4 ohms (Class D)
- Integrated Amplifier
- Minimum Impedance: 4 ohms
- under 0.006% at 1kHz THD
- Signal to Noise Ratio: 110dB
- Frequency Bandwidth: 1kHz
- Built-in DAC
- Max Bit Depth: 32
- Max Sample Rate: 384
- HDMI Input
- Stereo RCA, can be configured for subwoofers or sub-zones Subwoofer Output
- Bluetooth
- 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi
- Weight: 4.50 kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 44.5 x 300.0 x 300.0 mm
- Read the Review
Where 150 watts sits in Naim's own range
This is the part our database is for. We hold five Uniti models now, and every one has a power figure and a price on it.
The CI-Uniti 102 is not just matching the Nova PE on watts. It is matching it on amplifier type as well. Both are Class D. The 102 even claims a little more into 4 ohms, 260 watts against 250.
Same rated power into 8 ohms, same Class D, and the 102 costs 18% of what the Nova Power Edition costs. Whatever the other $8,200 buys, it is not the watts.
Naim Uniti Nova Power Edition, 150 watts into 8 ohms at $9,999
I want to be fair here, because watts are the easiest thing to compare and the least interesting thing about an amplifier. The Nova PE is 15.1 kg of aluminium with a Burr Brown DAC, a five inch screen, a real volume control and Naim's own power supply design. The 102 is 4.5 kg and hides in a rack. Nobody at Naim thinks these are the same product.
But if you are buying watts and a streaming platform, and you do not need the box to be beautiful, the price gap is very hard to argue with.
Now put it against every amplifier we hold
We now have 196 amplifiers with a price on record. Of those, 43 make 150 watts or more into 8 ohms. So far so ordinary.
The interesting bit is what happens when you also ask for network streaming. Sort those 43 by price and the CI-Uniti 102 lands third, at $1,799. The two amplifiers below it are the NAD C 388 and the Peachtree nova150, both $1,499, and neither has a network connection of any kind. Not Wi-Fi, not ethernet, nothing. Nor do the three at $1,999 above it.
The next one that does stream is the NAD C 388 BluOS-2i, at $2,049.
So as of today the CI-Uniti 102 is the cheapest amplifier in our database that puts 150 watts into 8 ohms together with real network streaming, and it holds that spot by $250. It has held it since February 2025 and nobody was looking.
What you give up
Plenty, and none of it is hidden. Count the sockets on the back panel.
Naim CI-Uniti 102 rear connection panel
- One analogue input. A single stereo RCA. There is no USB input and no phono stage, so a turntable means buying a phono preamp, and a computer means going in over the network.
- Two digital inputs. One optical S/PDIF, capped at 96kHz/24bit, and HDMI eARC. Every Uniti we hold has HDMI ARC too, so that part is not new.
- No screen and no knob. Everything happens in the Focal & Naim app. If the network is down, you have a power button.
- No headphone output. All four Uniti models we hold have a 3.5mm socket on the front. This does not.
- DSP is installer territory. There is EQ and there are limiters, but they live in Focal & Naim Manager, the professional setup software, not in a friendly consumer wizard.
Naim Uniti Atom, the five inch screen and volume control the CI-Uniti 102 does without
That last picture is the honest summary of the trade. The Atom is a beautiful object you put on a shelf and touch. The 102 is a tool you screw into a rack and forget.
One more thing our reader data says
Readers here have compared 193 different amplifiers against each other. The Uniti Nova sits in the top 15 of that list. The Nova Power Edition, which is the newest and by far the most expensive Naim we hold, sits outside the top 100.
That is what readers compared, not what sold. But it does suggest the $9,999 end of the Uniti range is not where the interest is, which makes a $1,799 model with the same power rating look like the more useful product to actually put in front of people.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | |  |  |  |  |
| Model | Naim CI-Uniti 102 | Naim Uniti Atom | Naim Uniti Nova | Naim Nova PE |
| Type | Integrated Amplifier | Integrated Amplifier | Integrated Amplifier | Integrated Amplifier |
| Amplifier Class | Class D | Class A/B | Class A/B | Class D |
| Power into 8 ohms | 150 watts | 40 watts | 80 watts | 150 watts |
| Power into 4 ohms | 260 watts | - | - | 250 watts |
| Minimum Impedance | 4 ohms | 4 ohms | 4 ohms | 4 ohms |
| THD | under 0.006% at 1kHz | - | - | 0.005% |
| Signal to Noise Ratio | 110 | - | - | - |
| Frequency Bandwidth | 1k | 20-20k | 20-20k | 20-20k |
| Built-in DAC | | | | |
| DAC | - | Burr Brown | Burr Brown | Burr Brown |
| Max Bit Depth | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Max Sample Rate | 384 | 384 | 384 | 384 |
| Analog Inputs | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Phono Input | | | | |
| Optical Digital Inputs | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Coaxial Digital Inputs | - | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| USB Input | - | - | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI Input | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI ARC | eARC | ARC | ARC | ARC |
| Preamp Outputs | Stereo RCA | Stereo RCA | Stereo RCA | Stereo RCA |
| Subwoofer Output | Stereo RCA, can be configured for subwoofers or sub-zones | - | - | - |
| Headphone Output | No | 3.5mm | 3.5mm | 3.5mm |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), 2x2 MIMO | 802.11ac | 802.11ac | 802.11ac |
| AirPlay 2 | | | | |
| Chromecast built-in | | | | |
| Roon | - | Ready | Ready | Ready |
| BluOS | - | | | |
| HEOS | - | | | |
| Handheld Remote | | | | |
| Height | 44.5mm | 96.0mm | 96.0mm | 116.0mm |
| Width | 300.0mm | 247.0mm | 434.0mm | 432.0mm |
| Depth | 300.0mm | 316.0mm | 316.0mm | 265.0mm |
| Weight | 4.50kg | 7.00kg | 13.03kg | 15.10kg |
| MSRP | 1799 USD | 3799 USD | 6899 USD | 9999 USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon, B&H Photo | Amazon, B&H Photo | Amazon, B&H Photo | Amazon, B&H Photo |
Before you buy any 150 watt amplifier, check it against the speakers you already own. Our amp and speaker matcher takes the sensitivity and impedance off a speaker's spec sheet and tells you whether there is enough power in hand for your room. 150 watts is generous for most bookshelf pairs and merely sensible for a big, inefficient floorstander. You can also put the 102 next to the Nova Power Edition and see the rest of the sheet, line by line.
If you want to check current pricing, it is listed as Naim CI-Uniti 102.
Questions answered
How much power does the Naim CI-Uniti 102 make?
150 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 260 watts per channel into 4 ohms, from Naim's own specification page. That is the same 8 ohm rating as the Uniti Nova Power Edition, which is the most powerful Uniti in our database, and 10 watts more into 4 ohms.
How much does the Naim CI-Uniti 102 cost?
$1,799 list in the United States, and it has been showing up nearer $1,499 at retail. Naim does not publish a US price on its own product page, so both figures come from US listings and the review linked above rather than from Naim itself.
Is the CI-Uniti 102 better than the Uniti Atom?
It makes 3.75 times the power for less than half the money, and it is the newer design. The Atom answers with a five inch display, a real volume control, a headphone socket, more inputs and a case you would want on a shelf. If the amplifier is going in a cupboard, the 102 is the obvious buy. If you are going to look at it every day, it is not.
When did the Naim CI-Uniti 102 come out?
February 2025. It is part of Naim's custom install range rather than the main Uniti line, which is why it got almost no coverage in the hi-fi press at the time and is only being noticed now.
Does the Naim CI-Uniti 102 have HDMI?
Yes, one HDMI eARC input carrying LPCM up to 192kHz/24bit, so a TV can feed it and the TV remote can control volume. There is also one optical S/PDIF input, capped at 96kHz/24bit, and a single stereo RCA analogue input.
Is the CI-Uniti 102 in your database?
Yes, as of today. That makes five Naim Uniti models we hold, alongside the Atom, Star, Nova and Nova Power Edition, so you can put the 102 side by side with any of them or with any other amplifier on the site. Its specifications came from Naim's own product page.
The short version
Naim built a 150 watt streaming amplifier, priced it at $1,799, and aimed it at installers rather than at readers of hi-fi sites. Eighteen months later it is the cheapest amplifier in our database that puts that much power together with a real streaming platform, by $250 over the next one.
What it costs you is everything you would touch. No screen, no knob, no headphone socket, one analogue input. If your amplifier lives out of sight, none of that is a loss. If it sits on the shelf under your television, all of it is.
Would you take 150 watts in a box you never look at, or pay for the Atom you actually want to look at?