Proac D38R with SET amp

I used to own a pair of D38's ... and I ran them with (wait for it) ... Cary CAD-805AE monoblocks. These have 50W of power. So is 50W enough? If most of your listening is simple stuff (like female vocals or violin solos) at low volume, 50W is ample. However, if your taste wanders towards large scale music (like Wagner) you will find that the bottom end is a bit lacking and the amplifier regularly runs out of oomph.

I thought the combination was absolutely magical for some types of music, but my dissatisfaction with the inability to project size and scale led me down another path.

Why not use loudspeakers designed for SET use? Only 10 watts? most loudspeakers wouldn't run so well of this but some exist that are designed for such use. Many people expect SET to run most everything and there just asking for system mismatches and grief.

hi
thank you for all your responses. yes, i am aware that it may not be the combo which one would choose if building a system from scratch....just that the opportunity to purchase a pair of D38R came about... and I intend to keep my existing amp.

Seems like no one here has direct experience with a SET in that power output range ... anyone tried a 300B amp (8W) on the D38 or D38R? Many thanks.

A 8-10w SET will work gloriously in most circumstance, but in the long run, it will leave you wanting for more power. Don't forget that the D38 is a nominal 4ohm load and some 300B valve amps do not like 4ohms.

min power requirements 10 watts 4 ohms a SET will not be a good match at all.