DAMN, I feel so stupid for not realizing this before.

I've had exactly the same problem- Stereo image problems with ripping. There's even a mention about it in one of the FAQs that quotes me. I'm so sorry I didn't bring it up before. I can't believe I had the answer to your question all along and just didn't think of it. (/me kicks himself in the head a few times.)

I've seen this happen with bad rips, where the stereo image flip-flops in places where it's not supposed to. As you surmised, it's the rip at fault, not the encoder. Good detective work.

I only have experience with desktop CD drives for ripping. I have a particular drive which will cause this exact problem unless I use WINDAC32, with very specific settings, to rip. Other rippers, despite their claims to produce perfect rips (such as EAC), cause errors on this particular drive.

I don't know about laptop drives and ripping. I know that some desktop drives specifically advertise their rip speeds and are marketed for that purpose. But I've never seen a laptop advertise it's ripping capability.

Does anyone know if there's a database on the internet where people log their rip results with various drives?

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Tony Fabris