Review: Govee Table Lamp Pro 2

The lava lamp debuted in 1963. It was invented by Edward Craven-Walker in Britain through his company Crestworth. The lava lamp was originally called “Astro Lamp” inspired by an egg timer that Craven-Walker saw in a British pub.

While I wasn’t around for the birth of the lava lamp, in the late 80s and early 90s there were still enough of them around to capture my fascination.

Lava lamps never offered that much entertainment; you could spend maybe 10 to 15 minutes just watching the goo interact in the mysterious fluid after being heated by a lightbulb. But there were always other things to do: A bike to ride, a hose to drink out of, friends to go into the woods with, a snow fort to build, parents to ignore you, MTV to watch.

Since its inception, the lava lamp has been a popular device to mimic. From reinventing it as-is, to adopting new technologies like LEDs or using different types of materials for different effects. You can even easily find numerous recipes online to create a DIY lava lamp.

While not its main function, Govee’s Table Lamp 2 Pro doubles as a decent lava lamp.

In fact, one of its pre-defined “scenes” is a lava lamp with lights flowing much like these devices from 60 years ago.

Opening it up

Govee recently sent me its Table Lamp Pro 2 to check out. The lamp comes self-contained with a removable wall charger. So, if you hate putting things together you will be happy with the ease of use. Just connect the wall outlet to the device and it’s ready to go.

Plugging it in

The Govee Table Lamp Pro 2 features a variety of buttons at its top and pressing the power button begins the light show.

There are a handful of scenes that come with the lamp — flames, birds, waves, calming and, of course, lava lamp. Interestingly, all of these scenes come with sound if you desire it.

Play music, set scenes

One of the biggest draws of the Govee Table Lamp Pro 2 is the Sound by JBL with stereo pairing.

The lamp comes with 210 high-density LED lamp beads and a compact 2.5-inch 500 cc full-range speaker from JBL. The speaker allows for good sound quality from such a small device. Govee said you can synchronize two such lamps for a more immersive stereo experience.

The lamp also comes with more than 100 preset lighting scenes and users with the Govee app can make hundreds more including setting moods or entertainment scenes. But honestly, there are so many scenes built in that you don’t really need to do that, which is a plus as I absolutely hate downloading new apps that I only use occasionally.

There are 16 music-light modes that use the speaker and lights to synchronize different moods including the lava lamp.

Sturdy and loud

I really liked the fact that the sound is loud. The speaker booms, making it great for outdoor events. But like many such devices, the louder you get the more the quality seems to be sacrificed.

Additionally, I like that it’s sturdy. The base is not wobbly or cheap. It seems like you could drop it, and it would keep on ticking. Those with kids will be thankful for this.

Conclusion

If you want a modern lava lamp, the Govee Table Lamp Pro 2 will do the trick.

Though it lacks the nostalgia and the warmth of the old devices, it does work as a novelty item. It also works if you want to mix sounds with mood lighting.

But this isn’t going to replace the traditional lamp. The light emitted is not substantial enough to illuminate a room properly. And while I could see someone trying to use the sound feature to help drift off into dream land, I’m not sure the speaker is built for this; it is just too loud, and the quality is not good enough.

But it is great for parties and it would be a great novelty for friends just hanging out—especially those from Gen XThe ability to play music is also handy for these types of events and you can program the lamp to respond to what’s being played through Bluetooth, which is extremely handy.