What format are most people using, and why?

Use EAC to wav. Then use Itunes to convert the wav to apple lossless.

Instructions found here.
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-81756.html

Now I use EAC to rip directly to FLAC and J.River Media Center as my media player. Nothing else compares.

just a note... you should be seeing more than a 25% reduction in file size if you use FLAC at the highest compression ratio. It should be closer to 40-45% reduction.

I have a question: How does one make "the perfect rip" and how does one know?

Well, okay, maybe that's two questions. Anyway, I have been using EAC and AccuRip to rip seedees to WAV and then immediately to FLAC (erasing the intermediate WAV file). The process I use is described here:

http://http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?EACInstall

Much to my surprise, I find that it is accepted that a perfect "bit-perfect" rip is unlikely even with EAC...or at the very least it is usually impossible to verify a perfect rip even with AccuRip.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to consistently and time-effectively make the perfect rip? Is it even possible to make a perfect rip for certain (even if it is not in the AccuRip database which many of my seedees are not).

Does the "perfect rip" involve a particular cd ROM drive?

Having so much invested in ripping a large classical collection, my inquiring mind wants to know.

As mentioned earlier in the thread I have all my files saved in Apple Lossless. If I had iTunes convert my Apple Lossless files to WAV would my files be equivalent to ones created if I had ripped them to WAV from the CD at the point of my original rip?

Curious......thanks.