• Home
  • 4 Easy Ways to Play Audible AAX Audiobooks on Mac [AAX Player Mac]
audible aax player for mac

4 Easy Ways to Play Audible AAX Audiobooks on Mac [AAX Player Mac]

We get aax format audiobooks from audible.com, but there is not an official Audible app for Mac like you get in Windows. So, how to play audible aax on a Mac computer?

Method 1. Play Audible on Mac with Audible Cloud Player (Browser)

Though there is not an official Audible app for Mac like you get in Windows, the Audible Cloud Player (also known as Audible Web Player) allows you to play your audiobooks over an internet-connected device by audio streaming.

audible cloud player mac

Here’s how to access audible cloud player and play audible with it.

    1. Visit audible.com via Chrome or Safari browser (any of choice) ang log in with your account.

    1. Go to your “Library” and click the “Listen now” button next to an audiobook.

    1. The audible cloud player will open in a pop-up window. 

Cloud Player not Working? 5 Solutions  are Here.

Whenever I try to use audible cloud player, it buffers for a while then displays the error “Problem connecting to server. Please click to try again”.

Solution 1. Try disabling your ad-blocker. 

Solution 2. Update your browser to the latest version. If the cloud player still won’t load, clear your web history. 

Solution 3. Check your internet connection whether you have an active connection.

Solution 4.  Logged out of your account and then re-log in.

Solution 5. Check the permission of your browser to play audio for the website.

audible auto play

Pros

  •  

    No need to install anything. 

  •  

    Play audiobooks without downloading them.

  •  

    Unlike any other music online players, you can see options like pause, go forward and backward. 

  •  

    This is the most straightforward method to access Audible on Mac. 

Cons

  •  

    Couldn’t download audible offline. 

  •  

    Always need a network connection, otherwise the playing will pause.

Method 2. Listen to Audible Audiobooks with iTunes (MacOS 10.14.6 Mojave or Earlier)

Audible is compatible with all Apple devices including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, the iMac and iMac Pro. For mac computer users, the official way to play Audible is via iTunes. 

audible aax in iTunes

Go to your audible library page, you will see the “Download” button next to the audiobook you’d like to download.

You’ll then see the download notification pop up. Once it’s finished downloading, you’d be able to open the file and start listening to your audiobook on- or offline.

(Basic step: Connect Audible account to iTunes)

The first time you open this type of file on your Mac, a new pop-up window will ask you to “authorize your computer”, click “Yes”. 

authorize audible iTunes

Next, it will ask you to enter your Audible sign-in credentials. Do it.

Sign in. Click the orange button that says Activate in iTunes.

activate in iTunes

You’ll see a message Click here to complete your activation. Click on that.

open audible itunes

This will open the iTunes app on your Mac. To find your audiobook go to the Audiobooks section of iTunes from the top left and then go to the library. You’ll see your audible Audiobook there.

Pros

  •  

    Basic controls playback and volume control.

  •  

    It also remembers where you were listening to last time.

  •  

    Play audible within the app chapter by chapter (should click the chapter from the menu bar).

Cons

  •  

    You can’t fast forward or change the playback speed.

  •  

    You can’t bookmark.

  •  

    No option to jump to the next chapter within the iTunes app.

Method 3. Play Audible with the Apple Books App (MacOS 10.15 or Above)

With the release of MacOS 10.15 Catalina, Apple has transitioned from iTunes to Apple Books. 

audiobooks section in Books

A simple 3 step process to play aax with apple books. 

First of all, download aax via a browser.

Go to www.audible.com/lib, click Download next to the book you want to listen to.

download now audible

Where are audible audiobooks stored when we download them to our Mac?

The downloaded location varies based on your specific browser settings and your chosen browser.

where are audible stored on mac

(Safari) Click on the Safari menu > Preferences. Under the General tab, you can view File download location.

(Firefox) Click on the Firefox menu > Options. Under the General tab, you can view Save files to.

(Chrome) Click on the Chrome menu > Downloads. In the tab that opens, click Open downloads folder.

Next, authorize your Audible account in Apple Books. 

If this is your first time downloading an audiobook to your Mac, you’ll need to authorize your audible account.

Finally, import audible aax files to the Books app.

Locate the audiobook, then do any of the following: 

    1. Click the audiobook.

    1. Drag&drop the audiobook to the Books app window.

    1. Launch the Books app , choose File > Import, go to the Downloads folder, select the audiobook, then click Add.

Now downloaded audiobooks appear in the Audiobooks section in your Books app.

Pros

  •  

    Control playback(skip forward or back).

  •  

    You can set a sleep timer(select when you want the audiobook to stop playing).

  •  

    Change the speed of the speaking voice(0.75x ~ 2x).

  •  

    Switch chapters when playing.

Cons

  •  

    Does not appear to sync across devices.

  •  

    There isn’t a bookmark feature.

Method 4. Convert AAX to MP3/M4B on Mac and then Choose A Player

The above methods are great for listening to Audible on a Mac. However, it’s worth noting that all downloaded Audible audiobooks are typically tied to Audible’s website or app. What if we simply want to play Audible files with VLC Player?

Here you may need this iSummersoft Audible Converter. It is fantastic and easy to use for stripping DRM from Audible AAX and converting AAX to MP3/M4B with chapters.

audible aax2mp3 mac

How to Convert AAX on Mac?

Step 1. Start iSummersoft Audible Converter on your computer.

Step 2. Add downloaded AAX format audio files.

This Audible AAX Converter supports batch conversion, so you can add as many audiobooks as you want.

Note:

Make sure you have downloaded aax audiobooks from audible.com to your mac computer in advance. In general, you are only allowed to download the single purchased audible titles (also the audible original titles) for offline listening. You are not able to download subscribed audible audiobooks for offline, you can only play them online.
But don’t worry, the new version of iSummersoft audible converter now supports downloading and converting subscribed audible files. This function is pretty useful for those non-US audible marketplace (such as audible uk, audible Japan, audible Italy) users.
audible converter isummer new

Step 3. Set output format.

Set output format as MP3 or M4B format at the bottom of the interface.

aax mp3 m4b

Pro tips: Most mac users prefer to play M4B format, and good news is that this tool also supports aax to m4b conversion with high speed. 

Step 4. Start aax conversion.

converted mp3 books from audible

Click the icon ”Convert to” to start converting AAX to MP3 or M4B. iSummersoft Audible Converter is capable of the remaining work and you can leave it alone and do whatever you like.

The highlighted feature of this converter is its high efficiency. With this Audiobook Converter, you can quicken the process for converting a 2-hour long audiobook within minutes.

Note:

Before the converting job, you can also click on the “Settings” icon to enable the split option and choose “Split by chapters” so that you can get the converted audiobooks chapter by chapter (they are stored in one folder separated by books).

split by chapters audible

Now you can transfer any downloaded aax audiobooks to any music player app you prefer rather than have to rely on Amazon/Audible.

Pros

  •  

    Help unlock audible aax offline for backing up.

  •  

    You can play audible at any time on any player (without audible).

  •  

    Play audible audiobooks offline even if no network connection.

Cons

  •  

    Should install a third-party software(paid) on Mac.

  •  

    Unregistered users can only convert each audiobook for limited content(20% of each one). However, you can break the limitation by purchasing a full version($19.99 for one-year).

Another question: Are there any other software(or free) that could help convert audible on Mac?

There are some useful aax to mp3 converters we can also try, for example, the OpenAudible. 

https://www.isummersoft.com/audible2mp3-mac-via-openaudible/

By comparison, iSummersoft Audible Converter is better than OpenAudible: the conversion time of iSummersoft Audible Converter is shorter than OpenAudible; The price of iSummer audible converter is cheaper than Openaudible. After trying them, just choose the one you like and enjoy AAX audios on your Mac!

leave a comment