Want to listen to Audible audiobooks on an MP3 player or some other application? Here’s a simple way to rip and convert Audible audiobook to MP3 in Windows.
Audible is one of the best things that happened to me. No matter what I’m doing, I can listen to my favorite book. This is especially helpful while traveling, working, or doing regular chores. As good as it is, the Audible app, no matter the platform, is not that good. It lacks several of the basic features like proper headset controls, equalizer, casting options, etc. That is one of the reasons why I prefer using third-party audiobook player like Smart Audiobook Player for Android.
The thing is, Audible doesn’t allow third-party players. In fact, the audiobook files are encrypted and download in a special format called “AAX”. So, if you want to use a third-party audiobook reader, you first need to convert the Audible audiobooks to MP3 format. Once you’ve done that, you can play the converted audiobooks on any device and using any music or MP3 application.
That’s where this tutorial comes into play. Let me show how you can rip and convert Audible audiobooks to MP3.
Convert Audible Audiobook to MP3
There are two major steps to convert Audible audiobooks to MP3. First, you need to download the Audible audiobook. Second, rip and convert it to MP3. Though sounds complicated, it is pretty easy to do. All it takes is a couple of clicks. Just follow the steps as is and you will be.
Since the Audible provides no first-party application for our purpose, we are going to use a free and open-source application called OpenAudible. It is a very simple application that lets you download, listen, and convert Audible audiobooks.
1. First, head over to OpenAudible GitHub page and download the latest version for Windows (file with .exe extension). After downloading, install it like any other Windows application.
2. After installing, open the installed application. Before you can download and convert audiobooks, you need to connect your Audible account. To do that, click on the “Controls → Connect to Audible” option.
In case you are wondering, this is important because Audible books are DRM protected. i.e, encrypted. Without your account information, the application cannot decrypt and convert the file.
3. The above action will open a browser window. Here, enter your Audible account details and click the “Sign in” button.
4. After signing in, go to your audiobooks catalog page. Generally, you should be automatically taken to this page. Once you are here, simply close the browser window.
5. In the main OpenAudible window, you will see all your audiobooks listed at the bottom of the window.
6. Select the book you want to download and convert, right-click on it and select “Download”.
7. As soon as you select the option, the download should start. Depending on the size of the audiobook and your internet connection speed, it can take some time to complete.
8. Once OpenAudible completes the download process, it will automatically convert the downloaded file to MP3. You can see the progress next to “State”.
If it didn’t automatically start converting, simply right-click on the downloaded file at the bottom panel and select the “Convert to MP3” option.
9. After converting Audible audiobook to MP3, the state will change to “MP3 on disk”.
10. To find the file, right-click on the audiobook and select the “Show MP3” option.
11. The above action will open the download location in the File Explorer.
That’s it.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, it is pretty simple to convert Audible audiobooks to MP3. You can now use almost any third-party audiobook reader or even a regular MP3 player to listen to your favorite audiobook.
If you like your MP3 files split into chapters, OpenAudible can do that too. Select “File → Split by chapter”, select the MP3 file and you are done. OpenAudible has several such features that make your life easier. Just play with the application and you will discover some interesting and useful options.
Hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.