Hello all,
I am new to Computer Audiphile and have been a stealth viewer for some time now - I am just entering the world of "proper" hifi, having purchased a DACmagic and AE and I am soon to buy a NAD 326BEE and B&W 685s.
Anyway, back to the question, I have conducted alot of research into ripping directly from CDs. It turns out iTunes and even Finder software isn't particularly good at reading optical media.
I personally use CDparanoia from within terminal. This gives you visual feedback as to the quality of the rip - any jitter picked up, any read errors and so on. It is also much more reliable and makes better use of your computers optical drive.
http://www.bronsonbeta.com/ is the site I downloaded the utility from. On the PC there is Exact Audio Copy which is very good at ripping CDs and will even compare the output to other users' rips via the internet for added surety.
Having visual feedback through CDparanoia allows me to assess the quality of the rip. Many a time I would listen to rips carried out through iTunes or Finder only to hear audible clicks (who knows how many inaudible errors there would). As CDparanoia makes better use of my optical hardware the number of poor rips has reduced significantly.
What I find concerning is that we are striving for the best sound from our interconnects, DACs, amps and speakers and yet we are using sub-standard rips. I think everyone should know this and use a suitable programme to ensure the best possible "immaculate" copy is obtained.
I am currently in the process of ripping my entire library using this software, verifying each rip and copying both the AIFFs to backup and ALAC files to iTunes.
I hope this helps.