Another manufacturer catching up...

Anther manufacturer is catching up to B&O's basic technical design for its speakers: Q Acoustics, a moderately-priced brand, is now selling an active (i.e. amplified), wireless transmitter version of their speakers, with a boundary compensation switch, a Left/Right switch, and even a tripod-ish stand!  Alas the speakers are hideous; but the stand is a nice piece...

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/activerange

It's high time for BeoLab 18's to get a microphone jack and the active room compensation available in the 50s and 90s -- just to stay one step ahead! [Edit: Yes, Sonos has had all these things for a few years now, but their manufacturing budgets keep their speakers out of the premium-quality range.]

Looks like a speed Radar or anything with Doppler in his name.

trackbeo:

Anther manufacturer is catching up to B&O's basic technical design for its speakers: Q Acoustics, a moderately-priced brand, is now selling an active (i.e. amplified), wireless transmitter version of their speakers, with a boundary compensation switch, a Left/Right switch, and even a tripod-ish stand! Alas the speakers are hideous; but the stand is a nice piece...

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/activerange

It's high time for BeoLab 18's to get a microphone jack and the active room compensation available in the 50s and 90s -- just to stay one step ahead! [Edit: Yes, Sonos has had all these things for a few years now, but their manufacturing budgets keep their speakers out of the premium-quality range.]

You are comparing very different things. Sonos tries to make a sound that sounds good all over the room by waving your phone around everywhere.

Beolab 50/90 are multi directional speakers that can effectively cancel out the rooms issues in a very different way.

Beolab 18 also isn’t multi directional so it can not so the same feature either, however it could do it like the Sonos does more or less but that feature could then be incorporated in the source rather easily.

Apple HomePod is more interesting with in time calibration that constantly listens from seven different directions and auto compensates for the rooms reverb and more. That is kind of what Beolab 50/90 does but mainly for another kind of noise (mid range and tweeter - of which it has one in many more directions as well). But the main reason is to be able to scoop up sound of you speaking commands (or to spy).

Right you are, no rear-pointing speaker.  So like a Beolab 5, then: adjust only frequency response, only to clean up bass room modes and fix-up the results of the "blunt instrument" that is the boundary compensation switch.  Since that means changing the main board, well, heck, just make a Beo*Sound* 18, with the same source/choosing as the rest of the line -- plus line-in & PowerLink of course.  

(BTW HomePod only has 6 microphones, the 7-count is tweeters.  Wonder if it could spy even better, shooting ultrasonics around the room to figure out where you are located, like the MIT people did reading WiFi radiation...  Siri says, "Get up, you lazy-bones -- taking off your Apple Watch won't hide your inactivity from me!"  It could keep the dogs away from itself, too.:-)

trackbeo:

Right you are, no rear-pointing speaker. So like a Beolab 5, then: adjust only frequency response, only to clean up bass room modes and fix-up the results of the "blunt instrument" that is the boundary compensation switch. Since that means changing the main board, well, heck, just make a Beo*Sound* 18, with the same source/choosing as the rest of the line -- plus line-in & PowerLink of course.

(BTW HomePod only has 6 microphones, the 7-count is tweeters. Wonder if it could spy even better, shooting ultrasonics around the room to figure out where you are located, like the MIT people did reading WiFi radiation... Siri says, "Get up, you lazy-bones -- taking off your Apple Watch won't hide your inactivity from me!" It could keep the dogs away from itself, too.:-)

Yes laser work and many other things too. Scary but true! Remember HAL9000?

Anyway, the thing beolab 5 did is now usually done through the TV. I have an antenna like that with my Avant. And the speakers can be configured for corner, free standing or wall. And honestly I hear more issues with beolab 5 mic than it did good things, simply as it was listening from the wrong place I guess.

Anyway, sure the speakers can be made smarter and smarter but then a new beolab will enter in its place. 18 is an iteration of beolab 8000, a classic and came out 2014 already. And for what it is it’s really good!