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If I had to rip things to MP3 just to listen to them, I doubt that I'd even listen to audiobooks at all. Even having to use iTunes and a USB cable to get audiobooks on my iPod became so much 'friction' to me. The Audible apps have made all the difference, and I like the cloud features that Audible is finally getting around to implementing (saving bookmarks/notes/position sync between devices and with ebooks). With the iOS & Android apps, you can begin listening as soon as a few minutes of the audiobook have downloaded (wirelessly). (I'd like to see them add 1.25x speed to the playback options, 1.5x is a bit too fast.)
Overall I find the ecosystem far more convenient and of much higher value to me than the alternatives that I'm aware of. Needing to manage physical media on top of that would just be wasted effort. I'd rather be reading...
The only problem is that it encourages over-consumption, just as with most ebook/mp3/video ecosystems. But I think that goes with the territory for all digital media. Most of us are going to 'purchase' stuff that we'll never read, listen to, or watch—more so than with physical media. Hopefully this will be rewarded with lower costs and even more improved ecosystems.
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