Converting Audible to mp3

[LtData]

Re: Converting Audible to mp3

Yes, it is a web install package. It installed Audible Manager 4.0 on my computer when I ran it, so it should be fine.

[Tomb]

Re: Converting Audible to mp3

The point is they will eventually remove that in the future and the file will be of no use to anybody. It would be handy to have the actual file available. I will ask at Old Version.com.

[bugsferg]

Re: Converting Audible to mp3

Excellent! Thank you so much! If The software is still there...you go to device center, pick an ipod (doesn't matter) then choose "Download for Windows 98 or ME" Works slower, but it works!!!

[Matt Smith]

Hi...

I found some posts about how dbPowerAmp music converter could convert audible files to mp3, so I got a trial copy. I was able to convert a couple of files but one thing I noticed was that the Audible files are incredibly compressed compared to the mp3.

The audible files come in mono, 22050 mhz frequency and 32 kbps (according to iTunes info) but they still sound pretty good. I tried converting them to mp3 several times over, but unless I was doing at least 80kbps (usually 96) on the lame encoder the result was noticably lower quality. The 32kbps lame setting was almost unlistenable.

The converted output, as a result, ends up being about 3x the size. Does audible have a kick-ass compression algorithm, is something lost in the conversion, or is the lame encoder not doing as well as it might?

Just curious.

Thanks
_Mark

Yeah, Audible uses a pretty solid compression algorithm that's optimized for speech, so their 32kbps files can still sound surprisingly clear. When you convert them with LAME or tools like dBpoweramp, you're re-compressing already-compressed audio, which usually kills the quality unless you bump the bitrate way up. That’s why the MP3s end up way bigger. I switched to using ViWizard Audible Converter — it lets you convert to MP3, FLAC, etc., without degrading the audio, and the files still sound great. Worth checking out if you care about keeping the quality intact.