Larry,
That was exactly my thinking re. the optical drive. If I am getting perfect copies, as checked by Accurate Rip, then will a different drive make a difference?
I have not tested older, and possibly damaged cds, but the copies of new cds have been perfect on my stock oem drives.
I did see that dBPoweramp recommended Teac based on some comparative work between different drives, but I believe the cds used were defective cds.
Thanks for everyone's feedback.