Two versions of the same amplifier rather than two different designs, so the question is not which is better built but which set of features you actually need - and what the difference costs.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | evenly matched | Effectively the same output - 70W against 70W into 8 ohms is under 1dB, which is not an audible difference in loudness. |
| Built-in DAC | evenly matched | Both have a DAC on board with much the same capability. |
| Streaming | evenly matched | The same streaming platforms and services on both. |
| Analogue inputs | B | Naim Uniti Star Lite takes more analogue sources - 2 against 1. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Built-in sources | depends | Naim Uniti Star has a CD player built in. That is one less box if you still play discs or listen to radio, and dead weight if you do not. |
| Shelf space | depends | Naim Uniti Star Lite takes up about 17% less shelf area (1145cm² against 1371cm²), and it is 51mm shallower, which is the measurement that decides whether a rack door shuts. |
A Naim Uniti Star B Naim Uniti Star Lite
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both amplifiers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Naim Uniti Star Lite has the edge on paper, though not by much. The rows marked "depends" are more likely to decide this than the score is.
What a spec sheet cannot show: how either sounds with your speakers, how the controls feel day to day, and what the app is like to live with - which is where most all-in-one amplifiers are actually won or lost. Power figures are the manufacturers' own and are not measured to a common standard, so treat small differences as noise. If you can hear both, that will tell you more than any row above.