Govee Desk Lamp 2 Professional X Sound by JBL evaluate: mild up your get together

Essentially the most shocking factor about Govee’s colourful sensible lamp with a speaker built-in is that we didn’t get one thing like this sooner. We’ve had color-changing sensible residence lights that sync to music through an app, and we’ve had Bluetooth audio system with RGB lights — placing the 2 collectively feels just like the pure subsequent step.

The Govee Desk Lamp 2 Professional X Sound by JBL ($179.99) combines snazzy lighting results and first rate sound into one enjoyable, transportable package deal. In contrast to most RGB Bluetooth get together audio system, it’s a practical lamp, and it additionally syncs along with your sensible residence. And whereas it doesn’t pack sufficient energy to rock an actual rager, it’s the right measurement so as to add just a little punch to your subsequent gathering. It’s a sensible mild with get together speaker aspirations.

The speaker / sensible lamp combo isn’t completely new; Ikea’s (now discontinued) Symfonisk Lamp had a Sonos speaker inbuilt (although you needed to put a sensible bulb in it to have a sensible lamp). Govee additionally has a flooring lamp with a Bluetooth speaker. However its new desk lamp is extra sensible, extra transportable (due to a 5,200mAh battery), and much more enjoyable. Individually controllable RGB and tunable white LEDs provide each fabulous get together results and sensible process lighting when wanted.

An improve to Govee’s sensible Desk Lamp 2, the Professional was first introduced at CES earlier this yr and is now available for purchase. It sits 10 inches tall, with a 360-degree LED array sitting on prime of a 10W full-range 2.5-inch JBL speaker. The Professional’s large additions over the Lamp 2 are the speaker and the battery. It additionally has a bigger base, a wider lamp, and a prime speaker grille with buttons for energy, quantity, playback, and biking by preset scenes.

The lamp options 210 LED beads that may show full shade in addition to tunable white mild as much as 600 lumens, vivid sufficient for a studying lamp. The bottom contains RGB lights that sync with the primary show.

The lighting results, of which there are over 100 presets in addition to 16 that sync with music, are managed within the Govee app, over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. There are a selection of built-in sound and lightweight scenes. My favorites embody Forest, with tweety chook sounds and luminescent greens and yellows; Wave, with its ocean acoustics and wobbly blue lights; and Sprinkle, which feels like a mild rainstorm with a beautiful aquamarine mild soup.

After all, you can too stream any music you wish to the speaker through a Bluetooth connection to your cellphone. Sadly, there’s no choice to stream over Wi-Fi or AirPlay 2 assist. In contrast to some get together audio system, just one cellphone at a time can connect with its Bluetooth radio. You possibly can have it hear for music out of your cellphone’s speaker, however that feels quite pointless.

The dynamic lighting scenes roll, pop, twirl, blob, kaleidoscope, or spiral in sync with the music, and sync remarkably effectively to the beat (Govee claims a 32ms response time). The colours are vivid, and the consequences are plenty of enjoyable. Like plenty of Govee’s results, some generally is a bit intense, however there are a number of “tender” choices, too. You may also create your personal scenes.

Whenever you’re performed with dance events, ambient choices, similar to a crackling hearth or a soothing sundown, are good, though the colours are nonetheless pretty intense. Settings for studying, work, and illumination make the lamp usable as a process mild, too, and sleep settings with lullabies make this a pleasant addition to a nursery. Nonetheless, it’s too giant and vivid for bedside use, even on the lowest setting.

Whereas you should use the lamp and app simply with Bluetooth, connecting it to Wi-Fi permits you to management the lamp by your sensible residence. It really works with Amazon Alexa and Google Dwelling over Wi-Fi, or you may add it through Matter to most platforms, together with Apple Dwelling. I added it to Apple Dwelling and was in a position to flip it on or off, and alter single colours with automations and voice — it responded immediately to Siri voice instructions. There’s not presently a method to sync Govee’s scenes by Matter, although, so that you’re restricted to static lighting.

Good lamp, normal speaker

It is a sensible lamp, not a sensible speaker. There’s no voice assistant, and you may’t management the speaker through sensible residence apps (though you may change songs along with your cellphone’s voice assistant whereas linked over Bluetooth). It’s additionally a reasonably fundamental JBL Bluetooth speaker. Whereas it will get a lot loud, it has restricted bass, however delivers clear vocals and first rate mids — making it excellent for podcasts or radio.

Bodily, it barely resembles a full-size HomePod, however in sound high quality, it’s extra like a HomePod mini. It made a fantastic train companion throughout my morning dance exercises, with Chappell Roan’s voice coming by clear and excessive as she hits these Pink Pony notes. Even cranked as much as 93 % quantity, there was no distortion. However as talked about, there’s hardly any bass. I examined it with Unhealthy Bunny towards a full-size HomePod; no contest.

You possibly can pair two lamps collectively for stereo sound, and that’s your only option for those who’re in search of a celebration ambiance. By itself, it’s tremendous for a small gathering or so as to add some oomph to a exercise, however for some actual vibes, you’ll need two. I solely had one unit, so I didn’t get to check this out. You can pair two HomePod Minis or two Alexa fourth-gen audio system collectively and get comparable sound for much less cash, however with out the enjoyable lighting results.

The lamp isn’t weatherproof, however it’s transportable, due to its built-in battery. There’s no deal with, so I needed to form of cradle it like a child, however at 5 kilos, it’s mild. I took it to the patio on a dry day, and my chickens joined the dance get together.

For a extra everlasting out of doors get together resolution, one thing just like the Sonos Transfer ($449) is a greater guess, with greater sound, longer battery life, and an IP56 ranking. Or, if lights are a should, a correct get together speaker just like the JBL Pulse 5 ($249), which has built-in RGB lighting, an IP67 waterproof ranking, and a pleasant large deal with — however no Wi-Fi connectivity, so no sensible residence management.

I ended up utilizing the Govee lamp largely in my screened-in porch, listening to the information with morning espresso or having fun with music with a night tipple, secure from the weather. I set an automation in Apple Dwelling that activates the lamp when the porch door unlocks, so it’s able to go after we stroll out.

The lamp also can pair with different Govee lights to sync all of them to the music utilizing its Dreamview setting. I’ve a tunable white set of Govee’s out of doors string lights on my porch, but when I had the RGB model, I may flip my porch into a celebration house.

Regardless of its world salad of a reputation, the Govee Desk Lamp 2 Professional X Sound by JBL is a enjoyable, fairly priced combo of music and lights. It’s not the perfect speaker on the market, and it’s a disgrace it’s no more versatile (a deal with and a few weatherproofing would go a good distance), however with its sensible residence management and spectacular lighting results, it’s a helpful and entertaining gadget.

Photographs by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge