Hi Handymann,
It sounds like you've probably already seen the lengthy "Is DEQX A Game-Changer" thread.
I haven't used the streaming function or the Ethernet interface of my HDP-5, so I can't comment on those features.
The speaker and room "calibration" (i.e., correction) functions do indeed entail a substantial learning curve, and can take a lot of time to fully optimize, if you do it yourself. Which is what I did, with my experiences having been recounted in some detail in the Game-Changer thread. However, as you've probably seen at the DEQX site one or two paid sessions of a few hours each with a "DEQXpert," conducted via the Internet, can apparently get you there much more quickly. Also, the numerous other functions the unit provides, including DAC and A/D converter functionality among others, can of course be utilized without the speaker and/or room corrections.
A laptop or other computer running Windows will have to be connected to the unit to perform the speaker and room calibrations, and to introduce frequency response equalizations that may be desired (which is done "on the fly," with its effects being heard instantly), and to set up different “profiles.” When those things have been accomplished to the user's satisfaction the computer can be disconnected and removed if it isn't needed for streaming.
Depending on the inputs and outputs that are provided in the various models, a DEQX can be inserted into the system either before, after, or in place of the line stage. My HDP-5 can be used in any of those ways, and I use it as my line stage, providing it with analog and digital inputs from several sources.
Finally, keep in mind that performing the speaker calibration process, which can bring any speaker that is not "time coherent" (which means most speakers, including yours) much closer to being so, requires that the speakers be moved to a position that is as far away as possible from reflective surfaces such as walls, so that the measurement microphone (which is placed 2 or 3 feet or so in front of the speaker that is being measured) will pick up room reflections to as small a degree as possible during that process. That figures to be problematical with your 410 pound speakers. Room correction, though, is performed subsequently and separately, with the speakers in their normal position.
So was the time, effort, and expense of my HDP-5 worth it to me in the end? Absolutely. And as I described in the Game-Changer thread, with my speakers (Daedalus Ulysses), and in my living room/listening room, probably the most notable benefit was that recordings having mediocre or poor sonics became significantly more listenable, while the sonics of great recordings were not compromised and in some cases became marginally better.
Best regards,
-- Al