I spent the better part of a day trying tons of free and paid programs that would convert .aa audible files into MP3 format and at the end of the day the best free option seemed to be an older version of Goldwave but in order to get this method to work you need a few other programs. I have packaged them here to save you some time and hassle.

Instructions after downloading and unzipping the .rar

1. Install ActiveSetupN.exe. This is the Audible Manager, you can also just DL this from the audible site.
2. Install audibleMediaPlayerFilter.exe
3. Install gwave506.exe
4. Place the lame_enc.dll file in the Goldwave folder (Usually C:\Program Files\GoldWave)

Once everything is installed the only program you really need to run is Goldwave. Note that when you open a file you must select the option to show all file types otherwise the .aa files will not appear. To export the .aa as a .mp3 file just choose the "save as" method and select the .mp3 option from the drop down menu.

Notes. This method works with the older free version of Goldwave which is included here. To make sure Lame is up to date just download Lame from the official Lame website (google it). This lame version is 3.98. You may also want to visit audible to DL the most recent of the Audible Manager. Some people have complained that this method requires alot of ram. If you have min dual core 2gb ram you should be fine. With a dual core 4gb ram laptop I was able to convert a 6 hour long .aa in 17 minutes using the default Goldwave settings. If you have any problems, open the audible manager, connect to any audible book you have downloaded, then rerun Goldwave.

******************************************
Two Free Audible books from audible.com using a spent prepaid visa giftcard, read below.

******************************************


This is an easy trick to use to get a couple of free audible books from audible.com. Visit this promo page: http://www.book-club-offers.com/audible-platinum/ and click the "join club" link.

By signing up for the platinum package you are entitled to two DL credits. Just be sure to cancel your subscription before 14 days and you wont get charged. I don't like taking chances so I bought a prepaid visa giftcard then spent it all and when I was down to $1 on the card I used the card to open my audible account (which uses amazon), that way I don't have to worry about audible having my credit card info on file and there is no chance you will get billed "accidentally". Then you can browse the books.

This method works for all kinds of sites that offer specials like this, just buy prepaid cards and spend money like you normally would and make sure you leave a couple bucks on the card because when you signup the sites will usually check to verify the card. Download your free crap then forget about your account and move on. One card with $2 on it can get you as many random accounts from different sites you want because when the sites try to draw funds from the card they don't go through from having less than the subscription amount.