At the beginning of this post, I want to ask audiobooks' users some question. For all of you, how to listen to audiobooks usually? What is the best device to listen to audiobooks? Do you want to find a best one? And are there any Audible compatible devices if you use Audible?
As for audiobooks, it was first developed in 1930s. At that time, it was mainly used on tapes, CDs. After 1980s, many book retailers started to promote this kind of media. Today, we can listen to audiobooks via various devices, such as computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, game consoles, streaming boxes, portable speakers, etc.
But among all the devices, the best device for listening to audiobooks is MP3 player. Why? Undoubtedly, it is due to its advantages like portability, long endurance, big capacity, etc.
In terms of audiobook MP3 player, iPod is the pioneer with most popularity. And a lot of other brands like SanDisk followed closely with different models. This makes it hard to decide which one to buy in the music crowded media player industry.
Today, here to help you select a best MP3 audiobook player, we will offer the top 6 best MP3 player for audiobooks for your reference in this post. Please keep on reading and learn more.
In this part, we will show top 6 best MP3 audiobooks players for you. You could take a look at it.
Apple has been leading the MP3 market since its release of iPod. In the past, many models such as iPod Classic/Shuffle/Nano and iPod Touch are developed. Though most of the models were discontinued, iPod Touch still flourish with a large base of users all over the world.
With a large storage of 128GB, a long endurance of 40 hours of audio playback, wide touch screen, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, it is the best overall MP3 player.
If you'd like to get a high quality MP3 player without running out of budget, then that is it. SanDisk Sansa has an internal storage of 8GB with SD card extension support up to 32GB. Also, it comes with a large OLED display, making it easy to navigate and tweak any settings. You won't have any problems playing Audible audiobooks with it.
But it doesn't have Bluetooth or WiFi feature though.
Creative Zen is a series of MP3 Players developed by the Creative Technology Limited in Singapore. It is very small in size only 60 grams, but it has powerful features. The capacity is 32GB. You can even insert a SD card to extend the memory. Creative Zen has a long lasting battery which guarantees 25 hours of continuous audio play. It supports all kinds of files like AAC, WAV, WMA, MP3 and audiobooks from Audible, Overdrive etc.
The best feature of it is the bookmarking, making it most convenient ever to enjoy audiobooks. But it doesn't support WiFi or Bluetooth.
This is another high performance device with fashionable design, large capacity, wide audio format compatibility and FM radio support. It supports to save up to 16GB files with its internal memory. If you want to transfer more files to it, you just need to insert a SD card with up to 128GB size. On its main screen, you will see 6 touch buttons similar to iPod, making it easiest to control and navigate to any music or audiobooks.
What makes it stupendous is that it supports HiFi lossless sound quality. It should be good for any blind people.
This is best small, lightweight MP3 player come from Sony. Sony Walkman has crystal clear sound, easy-to-use interface. It has 8GB memory which is big enough to put many audiobooks to it. The battery life is extremely long. You can listen to up to 50 hours tunes or radios. The downside is that it has a plastic covering which is not very robust.
This is another portable player with 3GB memory. If you want to have more files, you can insert another up to 32GB memory card. It has a very similar look like Apple Watch and the weight is small only 22.5 grams. Unlike other gadgets, it has a hook which enables you to hook the device tightly without worrying losing it when you are running, jogging or walking.
Also, it is most proper for children and seniors who enjoy listening to audiobooks. The big screen and easy interface makes it a best audiobook player for seniors. The disadvantage is that it looks plain.
So, what is the best MP3 audiobook player? The answer can be subjective, because it has many things to do with the players as we showed above and everyone's preferences. In a word, it would be differed from every one. Before buying, we list some factors that are worth considering. Please checking them out as below.
It is believed that most of you are likely listen to audiobooks on the go and keep the MP3 player audiobooks device in your pocket. So, the size and the weight is the basic factor you should consider. Unless you use the MP3 device at home, classroom or office. Otherwise, you should make sure to pick up one with light weight and compact size.
While listening to audio files, we may not need to watch the screen all the time. A big screen is more user-friendly, which will help you operate the device and control the playback. Besides, if you want to go to Apple route and get an iPod, you can access to the App Store to add new dimension of usability to your device. But the big screen will be heavier and more expensive.
Devices with small screens are cheaper but that doesn't mean they are with low quality. There can be best MP3 players out there with small displays.
If the MP3 player audiobooks device is with large storage space, then you don't need to carry heavy books with you when going on holiday. Differs from a standard song which is only several MB in capacity, an unabridged audiobook can have as long as several hours' length and several GB capacity. In order to load multiple audiobooks completely, you should make sure to have at least 8GB internal capacity. It would be better if your device supports external SD card.
Although it is difficult to hear the difference between 320Kbps and 1411Kbps songs on MP3 player, a well-developed player should be able to avoid any harsh sound effect or noise and make listening a much better experience. This is especially important for a senior or blind person who has high audio sensitivity or an audiophile who has big requirement for HiFi audiobooks.
For audiobooks files, they are longer in duration than music files, so you need to choose a MP3 player with good battery life. When you are outside listening audiobooks, a long endurance MP3 player for audiobooks device with 10~15 hours' endurance will ensure you to concentrate on the things you are doing without interruption.
The Bluetooth feature with help you stream music from your MP3 audiobook players to other Bluetooth compatible devices easily in a party or share songs with friends. A WiFi capability will let you download songs directly online without relying on the computers. If without WIFi, you have to download the audiobooks on your computer, then transfer the files from your computer to your MP3 player.
Many audiobooks are so long that you can't finish listening at a time. With the bookmarking features, you can easily navigate to the last part you left off and continue the listening without starting from scratch. Now some MP3 players don't have this feature. But if you want to read part of one book or listen to some music, then a MP3 player with the bookmarking feature will help you a lot.
Generally, the MP3 audiobook player can support audio formats like MP3, AAC, WMV, etc. However, nowadays many audiobook sources like iTunes audiobooks and Audible audiobooks come with proprietary formats and DRM protection.
So to listen to them on the MP3 player audiobooks device, you need to make sure you have a suitable player or an Audible compatible MP3 player. If you can't find one suitable, then you should consider to use a third-party tool to get those audiobooks to MP3 player supported formats.
From above, we had learned the best top 6 MP3 player for audiobooks and the way to choose the best device to listen to audiobooks. To select one meets your needs best, you not only need to consider the parameters of the devices we talked about, but also think about your own preferences and where you buy your audiobooks.
From my point of view, if you'd enjoy iTunes M4B audiobooks, obviously the Apple iPod Touch will be a best bet. And if you choose Audible audiobooks and want a best MP3 player for Audible books, the players we talked above are all the best device for Audible books.
The only thing you need to do is to use the Audible Manager for Windows to help you do the transferring. For more tutorials, you can visit: How to Put iTunes Audiobooks on iPod or How to Play Audible Audiobooks on MP3 Player.
Though you can use the Audible Manager to transfer audiobooks, there are a lot of MP3 audiobook players are not compatible with Audible. And nowadays there is no other players supports iTunes M4B files except iPod, iPad or iPhone. This is all because of the DRM protection.
If you'd like to transfer such audiobooks to your own MP3 device, you can also use a third-party audiobook converting tool to help you.
DRmare Audiobook for Mac/Windows is special developed for users to enjoy audiobooks in an easier way with powerful features which we talked above. It uses the cutting-edge technology which guarantee the best quality and performance.
Thomas Carman
Staff Editor
Thomas Carman is an experienced writer, software geek, and audiobook enthusiast. He always spends his time collecting interesting audiobooks and concluding helpful ways of audiobook entertainment.
