Audiobook ripping, few questions

[indijay]

Hello folks,

I understand this is actually Video help forum but I am sure, there are still experts in audio work, hence the question.

Usually I prefer iTunes to rip my audiobook CDs to mp3 using 'Join Tracks' option in iTunes. Since iTunes also has error correction as well, it comes handy when the CDs are slightly damaged.
In latest iTunes (11.0.4.4), I noticed that this option has disappeared, so I am looking for another ripper, preferably freeware, that offers similar features like iTunes (i.e. error correction and joining the tracks). I would like to avoid use of multiple applications to achieve the results (because if something goes wrong, I wouldn't know where it went wrong, until I listen to the files, which will be very time consuming.)

If anyone has recommendation for audiobook CDs to m4b conversion options, will be glad to know.

Ideally, mp3 or m4b, I would like to have only one file per audiobook. How do I achieve that, when there are at least 5 to 6 CDs per audiobook?

Many thanks in advance.

(P.S. - A quick update on few programs I have used and stopped using for few reasons,
I have suite from dbpoweramp but somehow the m4b codec available never worked at my hands,
I used to use Chapter and Verse and one fine day, after updating iTunes, the settings of this programs are royally screwed up. After multiple attempts to fix it in various ways, I gave up. The application forum was not useful to solve the problem, hence stopped using it.)

[hech54]

http://www.freac.org/
Checkbox on the main program "page" to join the files into one.
Just tried it....works perfectly (to MP3).