Server room ready
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This system looks as if it was put together to meet a specification set by a particular set of circumstances, if it was a yacht -surely that would be by the yacht builder ( such as Sunseeker )
My guess is that it will all be revealed in time
Best wishes
Ian
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Itâs been designed to be compliant to industry sector compliance requirements rather than a specific manufacturer requirements.
Along the lines of, âSuitable for use in Marine environmentsâ.
Harry our famous dealer told me that not only yachts but all commercial installations.
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I appreciate that the carcass of the machines was designed that way, it is the contents of the machines such as a streaming amplifier , eight channel power amp etc
It just seems odd compared to the normal Naim offerings
From what I can see it has a Toslink s/pdif input abut Iâm not aware of any s/pdif output.
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Naim prefer Coaxial s/pdif, itâs true, but Toslink can be useful, especially when connecting more mainstream electrical devices. Thatâs why youâll also find Toslink inputs on the Naim Units, DACs, Streamers etcâŚ
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These products are about large and customized installations. Not listening room individual HiFi.
Just look at the added capabilities: multi room for 32 devices, Dante, super-dense cabling (which needs rack mounting with cable guidance, âŚ). Just the 108 can have 8 speakers, 8 pre-out ins and 8 pre-out forward. Plus power, and trigger link. Hence focus on compact and robust cabling, not 101% HiFi quality.
It shall scale (with multiple 102 and 108) to support multiple large rooms with multiple speakers each. Or to add multiple power hungry speakers/subs via multiple 101.
Itâs puzzle pieces to build custom and/large scale audio deployments. Totally different market and requirements.
Maybe somewhat similar like servers for data center providers vs. gaming PCs at home. Can do somewhat similar things, but with very different focus.
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Itâs for a different kind of market (Custom Install) to the regular Naim kit.
The 8 channel power amp is for powering different zones. It uses Euroblock speaker connectors, which are a kind of standard for CI. Itâs not something that you would use in a regular system.
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Think thatâs the point a few are missing.
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Yes, well the marketing isnât exactly helpfulâŚ.
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Well it does show a yacht which does indicate thatâs in not for the average listening room.
Theyâre commercial products made for commercial installations.
Donât think many of us here will be trading our gear in for them.
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The heading on the website;
The Naim CI Series has been designed to be the perfect complement to audio systems in the Integration market, and in particular to Focal integrated loudspeakers.
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Thank you, I was a little baffled by it all - and couldnât work out where it sat in the Naim hierarchy and marketing plans
Really it sits in Focalâs marketing plans and that is a good thing
Best wishes
Ian
And that is wot the CI stands for, or maybe not
As I said to Richard a little baffled about the reason for these.
Best wishes
I see it more like âFYIâ for nearly all people here on this forum. Just look at the prices compared to other Uniti products, while the spec sheets list high Watt output (102 like Nova PE), and increased digital management capabilities. From price range per box, it seems to be more like Muso technology level in different packages and for structured larger installations.
Very different market and usage.
(Edit: the 101 then aims at the next level of output quality with the right speakers/subs, I guess.)
Still interesting from that perspective. And it could be kind of fun to test a 102 at home. (People compared it with other consumer level streaming amplifiers. But itâs not specifically built for your home and has features you might not need.)
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Iâve seen one dealer describing the CI-Uniti 102 as an Atom without the screen. If it is then itâs excellent value.
It strikes me as a nice neat unit that would be great tucked away in a second system but with access and compatability with an existing Naim system.
I could see one being useful in our conservatory replacing a UnitiQute.
Thereâs no mention of Roon support though which seems odd considering the existing
streaming platform supports this?
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Yes, the 102 does look like a neat solution for an Atom if you donât need the screen etc.
Interesting about Roon - probably not an application youâd want in a marine environment though and given the amount of bandwidth it needs to talk back to home these days, it could get very expensive on satellite broadband !
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Well, itâs actually in both Naim and Focalâs plans, as both companies are part of the same team for the past 12+ years - Naim providing the electronics and Focal the in-wall and in-ceiling speaker systems.
I feel that the company has learned some things since the old days of Naimnet. Then it was very much about adapting their existing range to try to fit into the CI environment. While performance was on a different level to most of the rest of the CI offerings, it had only very limited success, perhaps because of the difference in the market, and the fact that the Naimnet system was basically wedded to the Digilinx system. These look far more designed for purpose, with very wide CI system integration compatibility, and with DSP specifically designed for Focal custom install speaker systems.
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An 8 channel class D power amp might be just what I need for home cinema.
If they made an AV processor in this range theyâd be onto something.
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