By a strange coincidence, there's some discussion of this on demon.tech.pc, with Oz (another farmer) being somewhat bemused by both the appeal of MP3 and the low quality of computer speakers.

Well, with my ears I can't really hear the difference between a CD and the usual MP3 compression, though I can still recognise AM radio quality. And I have a pair of OK speakers on the computer which, while not technically handling bass, have distinctly better LF response than some I've heard.

I'm not sure I want to risk one of those cheap 5:1 speaker systems on my DVD player. The trouble is that age and noise cause hearing loss, and the tinny high-freequency that all that the tiny little speakers can put out is the first to go. I don't care about anything about 12kHz, but that's what they seem to be charging for.