Cardiackid
I use free MAX (MacMini with built in CD) with option "do not allow to skip". Sometimes it goes for a long time, reading the same sector over and over but ripped files never had dropouts (on 500+ CDs). I'm not sure how many times Itunes tries but I have some unreadable CDs that Itunes ripped with drop-outs. Scratches (along the track) might be not the only problem. I had few CDs with defective reflective layer (visible wave or poor reflection). Few unreadable disks I was able to rip with errors lowering MAX iteration from infinity to 200 then 100 etc. Missing sectors are error corrected in playback for scratches less than 4mm, interpolated for 4-8mm (provision of Reed Solomon Cross Interleaved error correction code) or dropped-out for scratches longer than 8mm. Once, when it took too long, polishing with toothpaste helped. Cleaning laser lens also helped when it got very picky.
Dropouts in playback are also possible especially in my wireless setup (but very rare). You should be OK with Firewire, since it is not using main processor for transfers (like USB does) but computer (including output USB) might have slowdowns. Easy to check playing same location few times (I'm sure you did).
I use free MAX (MacMini with built in CD) with option "do not allow to skip". Sometimes it goes for a long time, reading the same sector over and over but ripped files never had dropouts (on 500+ CDs). I'm not sure how many times Itunes tries but I have some unreadable CDs that Itunes ripped with drop-outs. Scratches (along the track) might be not the only problem. I had few CDs with defective reflective layer (visible wave or poor reflection). Few unreadable disks I was able to rip with errors lowering MAX iteration from infinity to 200 then 100 etc. Missing sectors are error corrected in playback for scratches less than 4mm, interpolated for 4-8mm (provision of Reed Solomon Cross Interleaved error correction code) or dropped-out for scratches longer than 8mm. Once, when it took too long, polishing with toothpaste helped. Cleaning laser lens also helped when it got very picky.
Dropouts in playback are also possible especially in my wireless setup (but very rare). You should be OK with Firewire, since it is not using main processor for transfers (like USB does) but computer (including output USB) might have slowdowns. Easy to check playing same location few times (I'm sure you did).
