Converting "Audible" audiobooks to MP3

[AlanHK]

Just remember to click that under his name guys.
I sure did

Good luck with that.
I'm happy if a moderator reviews the thread, you're the one who's been trolling.

I asked an on-topic question, and researched it and answered it. You contributed nothing except whining and sniping.

[johns0]

You can record to to mp3 by using audacity and choosing 'What u hear' with your sound card and exporting as mp3,only thing is you have to play the file in real time.

Why didn't anyone think of that before?

Otherwise, I just play it and set Audacity to record. That works, but it runs in real time and I can't use the PC at all in case something makes a beep which will be recorded along with the playback.

Really, are all my posts invisible? Or is it just that no one can be bothered to read even the first post before responding with their great insight?

Sorry if i missed that line,i was looking to see if anyone posted 'what u hear',You aren't gonna much help with your attitude.

[AlanHK]

Sorry if i missed that line,i was looking to see if anyone posted 'what u hear',You aren't gonna much help with your attitude.

Please feel free to repeat my own posts back to me in detail in case I misunderstood something that I wrote earlier.
That would be so helpful.


And no, no one did post "what u hear". Probably because anyone who has used Audacity to record obviously already knows this.
Since "what u hear" includes every random beep your PC makes, it's not actually a good way to convert a 20 hour audio book if you need to use your PC at all.

================================

Since I have solved the problem myself months ago, I'm unsubscribing from the thread so as not to get an alert every time someone wants to bitch at my lack of gratitude for whatever random factoid they felt compelled to post.

[Itinerans]

Hi there! Thank you all for the valuable advices.
The solution which I found most helpful was the one in post #16.
I have a problem though: now that I installed all the programs in the package, the new Audible audiobooks that I buy come as .aax. This is not convertible via goldwave any more and so I am back to the initial problem. I have tried to download Audible Manager again but it still comes in the old interface and downloads the books as .aax.
Do you have any advices on how to download the books as .aa again and then use solution #16?
Thanks a lot!

[Reaper_X]

Right, so apart from the hilarity of the one guy who created about 5 accounts to bash the guy who was forced to solve his own thread while defending himself; this thread was pretty useful.

However, Alan I was hoping you could help. I got all the utils required; however when I go to the install for the codec it starts, says there is an error and then that's that. So I can't get goldwave to read the .aa file at all. I tried googling it but mostly I get a bunch of of the crapware sites which "fix" errors for this application which seems to do everything from opening winsock ports to brushing my teeth. I'm running Windows 8 on a 64-bit machine; it should be backwards compatible but I thought I'd throw it in in case it matters.

I'll give the second method you mentioned a swing in a bit. If there's no solution.

[daern]

It's still astonishing that after all this time, Audible is /still/ DRM locking their content. I too find that the "wide range" of devices that Audible supports is in no way useful to me (I tend to listen in my car, so that means MP3 - and no, I don't really like to use my phone to playback in the car - it's not safe when you need to start and stop it).

I have bought Audiobooks for many years but I've still only ever bought a single item from Audible and the pain that I went through (I think it was the Goldwave approach IIRC) to actually /use/ the content that I had just paid for was simply insane. It's quite astonishing to read the steps that people are going through here to convert /paid for/ media for their own, quite legitimate use.

Sorry Audible, but until you remove DRM, I will not be your customer. Start issuing DRM-free content and I'll be first in line.

Daern

ps. I'm quite glad AlanHK has unsubscribed. He seems rather intolerant of some folk here

[PizzaPieGood]

I found the perfect solution to this problem. Does not use Goldwave, does not require playing the file back and rerecording it or any nonsense like that. It is a free solution (as in NO COST) and it only takes a few minutes to convert an entire Audible file to MP3. Nice and clean. Perfect.

PM me and I will send you the link. Not a Torrent or anything like that. No malware or other problems. No subscriptions, no limited trailware, nothing but a clean, elegant solution that works just like you want it to.

I've just gone through my entire library of Audible files and converted them all to MP3 and now I can freely play them wherever I want.

[johns0]

Why not just post it so other people can use this method?

[redwudz]

I would guess that 'PizzaPieGood' is a SPAMMER. And he has about one chance to prove different.

Fair Warning

Moderator redwudz

[PizzaPieGood]

No, I am not a spammer. Like I just PMed johnsO, I don't mind sharing with the group, but I don't like AlanHK's attitude. He's been rude to everyone and I needed to find an answer today but had to wade through all of his verbal garbage and put-downs of other folks trying to help him.

That's why.

[Baldrick]

Make a new thread with the solution then?

[PizzaPieGood]

Sorry, not to be hardheaded, but I won't do that. I want to actively deny AlanHK from getting the file I found. Someone already contacted me via PM today and asked for it, but they "just joined" yesterday as well... and had no other posts. So I think it was probably him, trying to trick me out of it. I have promised anyone else the link to the free file, that removes DRM and quickly converts the AAX to an MP3 file.

I will be happy to share the link to this free, nonshareware, nonmalware file to anyone on this thread and to anyone who has been on the board before the date I joined.

If that is unacceptable, then go ahead and just deactivate me from your forum. It doesn't matter to me. I found this forum by Googling for an answer to the Audible question and I wound up finding my own answer. If the mods think this is spam, it is not. If you don't want me to share it this way, then sorry, I'm not going to bend simply because I won't make it any easier for a jerkwad like AlanHK abuse other members, and carry on like he did.

I will, on the other hand, fulfill my offer, as outlined above. I have already linked an email notification for any PM I get and I will follow through, if you keep me here on the forum, just to be nice...

[nbarzgar]

Sorry, not to be hardheaded, but I won't do that. I want to actively deny AlanHK from getting the file I found. Someone already contacted me via PM today and asked for it, but they "just joined" yesterday as well... and had no other posts. So I think it was probably him, trying to trick me out of it. I have promised anyone else the link to the free file, that removes DRM and quickly converts the AAX to an MP3 file.

I will be happy to share the link to this free, nonshareware, nonmalware file to anyone on this thread and to anyone who has been on the board before the date I joined.

If that is unacceptable, then go ahead and just deactivate me from your forum. It doesn't matter to me. I found this forum by Googling for an answer to the Audible question and I wound up finding my own answer. If the mods think this is spam, it is not. If you don't want me to share it this way, then sorry, I'm not going to bend simply because I won't make it any easier for a jerkwad like AlanHK abuse other members, and carry on like he did.

I will, on the other hand, fulfill my offer, as outlined above. I have already linked an email notification for any PM I get and I will follow through, if you keep me here on the forum, just to be nice...

I've been a member of this forum for many years. I came across this thread today. I didn't really expect an answer to this question here, so unusual for me, Google brought me here.
I am amazed at people like you, who obviously do not read, what's plain to see: The posts Alan made answered practically anything that was said by others. Even if not veeery nice about it, he's unfortunately right.
You are in no way politer in the way you use your English.
I have read and contributed a lot to many forums, this being one of them. But I have yet to find a thread, where so much pointless and opinonated posts are contained from people who don't bother to read...
Thanks! Pass.

[PizzaPieGood]

Well, thanks for your opinion that you just added to the thread.

Did you bother to read, and notice, how in his second post, he's starting in on the sarcasm? No, "Hey, that's not going to work for me" or "no thanks, I'm looking for a different solution". Just lack of respect for others and sarcasm.

You may be cool with that, but I'm not.

[jja]

There looks to be a few PC methods out there, but I've yet to find a good MAC solution...

[PizzaPieGood]

Here you go guys, (even AlanHK)... No longer care about keeping a fence around him, have other important things to address in my life, so here's the link to the (PC-only), open source solution for converting Audible files to MP3:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/aaxtomp3/

The buttons are in German but you can use Google Translate to figure out what to do. Its very easy.

Of course, by sharing this, I know it will bring about it's eventual demise. "They" will find a way around it, but so be it.

Enjoy!

[Baldrick]

Great! ANd portable too.

But it's probably not going to work for alanhk...


Mirror download:

https://www.videohelp.com/download/AAX2MP3.zip

Usage:
- Install the Audible Manager and open a file of your account.
- Sign in into your audible account (in the application). Now the program can convert your audible files.
- Start Aax2Mp3 (AaxToMp3GUI.exe) and select the file you want to convert.
- Click the Convert button.
- The buttons are grayed out and it shows how far the conversion has progressed. - - The time should always continue to increase.
- If the buttons are clickable again, the conversion is completed. The mp3 file is now to be found in the same folder as the AAX file.

The conversion need (depending on the computing power) for 1 minute of audio approximately 2 seconds.
The conversion of Aax to MP3 is fast, free, and requires no I-Tunes.
Have fun while listening!

[MrsWatermelon]

Interesting thread for many reasons! I have over 40 Audible books and I would like to play them in my car, which only reads MP3 from USB. I will try burning a CD from iTunes and see if the car will read it but I doubt it.

I have downloaded the programme that PizzaPieGood and Baldrick very helpfully linked to but it isn't working for me. I don't speak German so I imagine trying to find support for it would be very difficult for me, can anyone suggest where I'm going wrong? I have Audible download manager open (it's downloading new audiobooks now actually). When I try to use the AAX2MP3 programme the buttons grey out for a seconds and create a one-second MP3 file which, of course, is blank.

Forgive my ignorance by if I use Audacity, does it record background noise too? So I would have to do it in a silent room? I've never used it, as you can tell.

[johns0]

Audacity only records what the computer is sounding out unless you are using a mike for any other reason.

[MrsWatermelon]

Thanks johns0. I realised where I was going wrong with the German programme - I was signed into the Audible downloads manager but not Audible Manager. It's now working and my car recognises the mp3 files it creates

[AudibleUser]

The German program (http://sourceforge.net/projects/aaxtomp3/) can also convert AA files. On my Windows machine I changed the file extension to 'aax' and the conversion worked perfectly.

[Peter0773]

Also try this AAX converter called "AudibleChapters", I like this better and has more possibilities (e.g. can also convert CD images burned by iTunes). I think the quality is better, but most probably that is hiqhly subjective

Have a look at this post for a basic description (english translation follows the german documentation, most probably new updates will also be announced on that page)
http://www.audiohq.de/viewtopic.php?pid=33616#p33616
or download it directly from
https://mega.nz/#!O5sTkIZZ!dPwGc1vHIDkXM2-V-HGFrDMxm4uSpo2f7frSF6IbpfA

[diamondozer]

i really must say that i am indeed pathetic and have nothing better to do right now other than to create an account to comment this one time and say op is a kind patient man who did in fact help me. i get paid because of the pains these people put other readers to so i must be impartial but none the less "Thermian's translator must be broken, never give up and never surrender, by Grabthars hammer you shall be avenged." -galaxy quest

[HelenaTroy]

I've bought several Audibles items, which played on my old XP computer. but that died and I got stuck with Windows 8 which apparently has never heard of AAX format. so not only can I not play the items that I've paid for on my mp3 player, hi-fi via USB or cd player via CD, I can't even play them on my all-singing-all dancing-bang-up-to-date wonderful new computer.

I did think of playing them and recording them real-time in Cool Edit, but for that I need them to play on the pc in the first place.

All I wanted was to be able to play these items without unplugging my desktop pc and dragging it from room to room and plugging it in again so that I could listen to the items in a different room. Still all I want, really

[Cornucopia]

Audible has free player apps for just about every platform, incl. Win10, so I'm pretty sure they've got a Win8 compatible one as well.
DL and install and enter your account info, and it should remember what you have bought and allow you to re-download to the new machine.

Scott

[HelenaTroy]

Thanks, Scott.

An Audible player did come down with the downloads, and caused me a lot or problems by trying to take over with its incomprehensible menus - I'm visually impaired so I need a large-print, full-screen player, which is why I stuck to Windows Media Player 10. nfi what brand of player I've got now but it's comparatively pathetic.

All my files and programs *should* have been installed on this new pc, so the Audible player should still be there, but it'd probably be a lot easier to go to their site and download another player, then spend a jolly hour or so finding out where the sod's hidden itself on my pc.

At least that'll mean I should be able to play the files, at least on this machine.

As a side note and supplementary question, I did try Audacity, but it said it needed something called Lame to work; I downloaded that too, but wasn't sure where to install it to make Audacity work. any offers, please?

[redwudz]

If you don't have LAME for Audacity, you can find it here: http://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl
When you try to export a file in MP3 format from Audacity the first time, it will ask where the plugin is. Just remember where you extracted it to.

[HelenaTroy]

thank you! I'll give it a go.

Scott, I took our advice and found the Audbiles site. Finally found how to download the player, it's probably somehwe on my pc, but nfi where. the "install" advice said, Go to Library, then Downloads. Went to Library but I bought these items couple of years ago so nothing there. Emailed Audbiles to ask wtf I do now, waiting for a reply

[bozo8787]

@johns0 @redwudz and @Baldrick after Googling how to convert Audible I immediately clicked on this forum since I've been a long time member but sadly this is my 2nd post. I mainly read and if I have nothing of help I don't post.

Two things:
1. You may want to consider is adding "Views" another column in your sorting system on this forum in the main pages. As of now you can only sort amount of "Replies" which this thread has only 58 and other columb"Last Post By"
2. With over 100K views on this "Audible" audiobooks to MP3" topic I think it's safe to say it deserves its own Sticky


The amount of replies gives this thread no justice because many peeps just browse because Google sent them here, others don't reply because they found the solution on this forum.

Anyhow an update on this topic is https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=htt...-text=&act=url

Thats the translated version but the original version http://www.audiohq.de/viewtopic.php?id=4618&p=5

Then links above are for AudibleChapters32 which is the updated version of the AudibleChapters20 that was last posted here.

You can download it https://mega.nz/#!XpMywICI!zC3UYfDC-H26Ibs1Wlw3ecdVAaNpF5mlHM37Rvdx-F4

I like both programs mentioned here but what I like about the AudibleChapters32 is that it makes a big effort of splitting up a say 6 hour mp3 into chapters.

[schwarz91]

Thanks to AlanHK for rasing the topic, and to everyone who has contributed.

I have a question about the aax2mp3 method. When I use it, I get a 64 bit file, despite that my original file was 128 bit, and I wonder, is there a way to fix that?