No single best amplifier here. What decides it is what you have to drive, what you need to plug in, and how much of the system you want in one box.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | evenly matched | Effectively the same output - 60W against 50W into 8 ohms is under 1dB, which is not an audible difference in loudness. |
| Noise floor | evenly matched | Much the same signal-to-noise ratio (98dB vs 100dB). |
| Built-in DAC | A | NAD D 3045 has a DAC on board; the other needs an external one, which is another box, another power lead and another purchase. |
| Analogue inputs | B | Rotel A11 Tribute takes more analogue sources - 4 against 2. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Amplifier class | depends | NAD D 3045 is Class D and Rotel A11 Tribute is Class A/B. Class D runs cool and draws almost nothing at idle; Class A/B runs warm and is the long-established mainstream choice. Modern examples of both measure well - judge by the rest of the page. |
| Shelf space | depends | NAD D 3045 takes up about 87% less shelf area (208cm² against 1629cm²), and it is 88mm shallower, which is the measurement that decides whether a rack door shuts. |
| Price | B | Rotel A11 Tribute costs less - $800 against $899 at list. |
A NAD D 3045 B Rotel A11 Tribute
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?
Neither runs away with it - they trade advantages. Let the "depends" rows and the speakers you already own settle it. If you already own a DAC or a streamer, the built-in one is money you are paying twice for, and Rotel A11 Tribute becomes the more rational buy.
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.