best external drive for ripping CDs

DBPowerAmp tells you if the CDs were accurately ripped.  If so, no other CD drive will make for improved sound.

I started with an Apple Optical drive. It died after a few hundred rips and I replaced

it with a Bryston Optical player (at the time I was using a Bryston BDP 3.). It was built like a tank, etc, and completely didn’t work. It ripped about 5 CDs, then couldn’t make it through a single CD (it was a “factory refreshed” model from Audio

Advisors). I sent it back to Bryston for servicing, at my expense for shipping. It came back weeks later, after I had to call Bryston, in exactly the same condition.

It is in a landfill now, the worst audio purchase I ever made.

Since I use a Melco NAS, I decided to buy their optical ripper (both the Melco and the Bryston can be used as CD Transports with their respective players). The Melco has worked great, ripping hundreds of discs without error, and yes sounds excellent as a CD transport.

I was in a thrift shop a few months back and bought a used Apple Optical player for a fiver. It ripped a few CDs well. The main reason I bought it is because it attaches to our MacBook and can play DVDs. We take train trips to see family a couple of times a year and Amtrak’s WiFi is no go for most of it, so we bring a few movies for the road

@mahler123. Funny. I have a BOT-1 as well, picked up used from a Bryston dealer, the thing did burn about 100 CDs before it flaked out. It appears to have a problem with the power supply as the green light flashes (should be a constant green) but Manic Moose can’t keep it registered. I also sent mine to Bryston and it checked out and came back in same condition. Can’t believe they sold that thing to the public for $1.5K. No wonder they discontinued it.

I primarily use the Bryston BDP-pi as a ROON endpoint now and it functions well there.  But I must admit when using the Pi directly to stream Radio Paradise and Qobuz it does sound a tiny bit better than ROON.

I've also had good experience with a Pioneer BluRay drive but it won't power up through a hub like the Rose does.