What are the current "speaker trends" in your opinions?

Oh Kay...OP asks for 'speaker trends' and in one page we're off and running into DSP, Bluetoothed, actives, and such....

...which none of which is 'new'...MHO.

Speakers that are 'listening to us' talk back is new.  And that's both interesting and occasionally frightening....

"HEY!  That sounds like *rap!"
("What would you like me to sound like?")
"Bose 901's, mid-80's...try that...")

12" tall speaker explodes...

Direct neural excitation is likely the next step, since we're already 'into' VR.  "Here, we'll just put this chip into your head.  Runs off your body heat, updates automatically, you just have to Think of what you want to hear..."

DON'T forget to autopay the monthly bill.  "Pause" & "Mute" might not be what you had in mind..... ;) *ugly G*

Won't work asv. Music has visceral aspects that headphones and chips can not replicate. Headphones are like sex with a rubber on.

...you mean like washing your feet with your socks on?

I think it depends on the price brackets.  Each of them will have a trend of their own.  

For medium price, probably it will be DSP.  But with DSP, currently there is no clear standard.  Right now, you have to purchase everything from one single manufacturer.  

Let look at a practical scenario. Let's say you decide to build a USB input speakers and using some type of DSP.  Well currently the PC can only have one USB output per single sound source.  So only a single L or R speaker can receive the signal.  So you have to split the USB signal somehow, but that's not easy because USB can only have one master/one slave talking at a time.  It can be done but somebody has to come up with a standard.  Of course you have to deal with latency issue whenever you split up two signal.

A manufacture can decide to go alone but that will cost a lot of RD money and the small guys probably can't afford it.  

As for the very high end, they will remain the same.  Using DSP does compromise the sound and high end market still cares more about sound than convenience.  

What are the current "speaker trends" in your opinions?

Stereophiles leading the charge, with the education of those that can understand, the relevance of what the test measurements show to what the reviewer has heard in the good and the bad a speaker or amp.
This takes a lot of the guessing out of buying a speaker or amp to mate up with each other.

But it’s always the voodoo’ist that say it not relative, measurements are BS!! but the sad fact is they just don’t understand how to read those measurements vs what’s heard with amps or speakers. The voodoo'ist just don’t get it, that those same Stereophile measurements and tests were used by the manufacturers to design the amps and speakers they are buying and listening to!!

Cheers George