Converting files to mp3

[bartveld]

I don't know how picky you are, but public domain audiobooks usually come from Librivox and quality is dismal. I want professional readers and certainly even then there may be some doubt about how they perform. But that usually is a matter of taste.
@cybmole: Your suggestion about Philadelphia is very welcome, though. And thank you for taking the trouble to look up War and Peace.

@catlady: legit = paid and registered. Maybe I should simply get a ticket from their helpdesk (that's an option I usually skip). Still, do you never have truncated conversions? What's the largest file you have converted?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by bartveld

@catlady: legit = paid and registered. Maybe I should simply get a ticket from their helpdesk (that's an option I usually skip). Still, do you never have truncated conversions? What's the largest file you have converted?

The Audible files are usually around 7-8 hours per part, and they convert fine. I download the Audible files in format 4.

I think I'd try reinstalling ST and/or contacting support. It really should work.

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by bartveld

I don't know how picky you are, but public domain audiobooks usually come from Librivox and quality is dismal. I want professional readers and certainly even then there may be some doubt about how they perform. But that usually is a matter of taste.

my wife likes audio books, for long distance driving, but all audio books send me to sleep no matter who reads them

i understand, though, that with audible files & player you can control the read speed, & you are going to lose that if you convert to mp3.

( there is software to overcome that. e,g, VLC player on PC allows you to increase speed in 10% increments without distorting pitch , but I don't think the tablet version offers that )

[CRussel]

Yes, you can convert Audible files to MP3 or M4b. Given our restrictions here, which are not as strict as they once were, but are still significant, I can't post exact instructions. Nor do I know of a single site that has it all in one place.

However, hopefully I'm within the restrictions to say that a combination of dbPowerAmp (an excellent program for very high speed conversion between different audio formats) and a copy of the old Audible Media Player Filter (GIYF) can do the job. On a 4 year old HP laptop, running 64-bit Windows 7, it took approximately 5 minutes to convert a 20 hour book. (4 processors engaged at 100% for 5-6 minutes.)

Also, starting with Format 4, the output sound quality was quite acceptable. I prefer to convert to m4b rather than MP3, since they get treated as audio books, not songs.

[ApK]

I have not had much success with the dbPowerAmp or older Goldwave methods.
I've used Soundtaxi in the past, and if you have a decent multicore machine, and the book is in multiple parts, it should be able to do the parts in parallel, saving quite a lot of time.

For me personally, I've given up trying to convert Audible books. The books I get from them are always highly discounted, so I have little invested in them.
90% of what I get from Audible I will never listen to a second time, so for me, most of the time, Audible might as well be a pay-as-you-go borrowing service.
What few audio-books I want in my permanent collection and really feel the need to protect future access to, I can get from other sources.
And the devices I play them on all have Audible apps now, so it's just too convenient to download directly and leave them alone.

[CRussel]

I can certainly sympathize with that attitude, ApK. (Not the dbPowerAmp part, I've had great success with it.) But since I've never really had any issues downloading books to my various devices, and since Audible tech support is apparently willing to reset my device list a couple of times a year, I have no concerns, at least in the short term. (I'm continually rebuilding computers, and each rebuild triggers a "new device". )

[cybmole]

one advantage of audible format is low bit rate thus small file size. if the OP converted his war & peace to 128bp mp3 it would be 3 - 4 times larger.
another advantage is that i believe previously bought books continue to work even if you quit the program
the downside is that many portable devices cannot play them.

back to the original post, I wonder if the reason that large conversion failed part way through even with licensed software is due to lack of RAM, or temporary disc space or some combo of both ? If the soundtaxi software uses virtual burn, it may need a LOT of temp space ?

[pwalker8]

Rather interestingly, there are actually a number of commercial products that will convert from the audible DRM to non DRM versions. The ones that I use, use iTunes to convert the files. I'm on a Mac, but one of the packages I use has versions for both the Mac and windows. As far as I can tell it works fine. I don't know if I can actually name the software that I use, but a little googleing should be able find several. I believe that the lifehacker blog reviews several. The company that makes the product that I use, also has a product that deDRM's iTunes movies.

It converts much faster than listening, but it does take some time. I generally will kick off the conversion before I go to bed at night. For the most part, I normally convert the files and put the converted files on a raid drive for safe keeping. Oddly enough (or maybe not so odd), being able to deDRM files (be it ebooks, audiobooks or digital movies) means that I buy more since I'm not worried about losing my media if the providing company goes belly up.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by cybmole

one advantage of audible format is low bit rate thus small file size. if the OP converted his war & peace to 128bp mp3 it would be 3 - 4 times larger.
another advantage is that i believe previously bought books continue to work even if you quit the program
the downside is that many portable devices cannot play them.

Sure, but converting doesn't mean you're losing the original Audible file. It just means you have a backup copy in mp3 format.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Sure, but converting doesn't mean you're losing the original Audible file. It just means you have a backup copy in mp3 format.

Yep, I keep the original audible files in iTunes and listen to then, the mp3 files are for backup.

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by cybmole

one advantage of audible format is low bit rate thus small file size. if the OP converted his war & peace to 128bp mp3 it would be 3 - 4 times larger.

But why would you convert them to 128? Why not 64 mono?
S

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by silverraven

But why would you convert them to 128? Why not 64 mono?
S

am not big on audio books so don't take this as gospel but I think audible format is very tailored to give good voice audio at low bit rates - e,g, drop the more extreme high & low frequencies altogether. MP3 tries to preserve everything audible.

in an aax to mp3 convert that should not matter, but if starting with a book on CD, I doubt you'd match audible's combo of compression & quality

is mono even an option in freeware mp3 converters, nowadays ?

[bartveld]

Sorry, was away for a while and didn't realize the discussion continued.

@CRussel: Thanks for your carefully shrouded but clear suggestion. I will try that.
@pWalker8: I wholly concur with your observation of buying more books/audiobooks when you're able to deDRM and convert. There's an element of unabashed hoarding in it, but also the certainty that I will have what I paid for, even when Amazon/Audible/Kobo go bankrupt. Stranger things have happened!

[gabby98]

I been meaning to chime in here in case it is of some help, but I use the application found here for such conversions and it seems to work quite nicely!

[bartveld]

That looks promising. Does anyone have any experience with Tunebite?