help with 15" sub w/ european plug

[fervour]

hey i'm building up my first home theater system and i recently got a Cerwin-Vega SUB-150. It's a 15" 200 watt subwoofer (yeah i know... why would i want a 15" sub with mini-satellites..i dont know.. it was cheap and the reviews were good?). But, when i got the sub shipped to me, i found out that it was the european version, so it had a european plug. what specific equipment do i need to run this sub in regular american outlets? i looked online a few places and most of the adapters and converters say "not for long-term use" or "0-50 watts only for appliances". Anyone know what I should do? Thanks a lot!!!

[jeffrodesiac]

hey i'm building up my first home theater system and i recently got a Cerwin-Vega SUB-150. It's a 15" 200 watt subwoofer (yeah i know... why would i want a 15" sub with mini-satellites..i dont know.. it was cheap and the reviews were good?). But, when i got the sub shipped to me, i found out that it was the european version, so it had a european plug. what specific equipment do i need to run this sub in regular american outlets? i looked online a few places and most of the adapters and converters say "not for long-term use" or "0-50 watts only for appliances". Anyone know what I should do? Thanks a lot!!!

RETURN IT!!!! GO FOR NHT

[Woochifer]

If it just got sent with a European plug, and it's still rated for 110-120 volts, then you're fine. You just need to go to a travel store or Radio Shack and buy an adaptor plug (should cost you no more than about $5). A lot of other electronics, hardware, and drug stores also carry them. Or better yet, if the power cable is detachable and uses the same standard three-pronged connector that you see in computers and monitors, you just need to buy a new power cord. Those are very easy to find and you probably got an extra sitting somewhere in your garage if you've owned more than one computer.

However, if the power supply is rated for 220-240 volts, then you need to check for a switch somewhere on the power supply that lets the unit take a 110-120 volt input. If not available, THEN you're stuck and should either get in contact with your vendor or CV. For your sub, it makes no sense to go with a power converter because the ones that can handle the load that your sub would potentially put on the circuit cost almost as much as the sub itself.

Was this a mail order purchase? Sounds like you got stuck with a gray market item, which is one way that those vendors can sell stuff for so much cheaper than retail stores.

[fervour]

thanks a lot for the info! it helped a lot

[robin_v]

hey i'm building up my first home theater system and i recently got a Cerwin-Vega SUB-150. It's a 15" 200 watt subwoofer (yeah i know... why would i want a 15" sub with mini-satellites..i dont know.. it was cheap and the reviews were good?). But, when i got the sub shipped to me, i found out that it was the european version, so it had a european plug. what specific equipment do i need to run this sub in regular american outlets? i looked online a few places and most of the adapters and converters say "not for long-term use" or "0-50 watts only for appliances". Anyone know what I should do? Thanks a lot!!!

There are lots of stores which will be only too happy to sell you a conversion transformer. If I remember correctly, the CV uses 220 volts at 50 Hz so you need that converted to 110V at 60 Hz.