I think ultimately as more capable DSP chips come to fruition, companies like ClarityEQ will divulge themselves of the hardware game (maybe ultimately selling the end product but subcontracting the production) and concentrate on the software sales and getting the UI down.
One can only hope so. Btw, both the DEQX PDC 2.6 and Behringer DCX2496 thesame DSP chip. It's the 32-bit SHARC®-DSP. In theory, one could turn the Behringer into a linear phase capable unit, but like you said it would require a non trivial software rewrite.
Here is a link to the datasheet of the DSP:
http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0,2877,ADSP%252D21160N,00.htmlNote that the cost of ADs evaluation board is twice that of a DCX2496.
Krull