Haven't seen this question before... so here goes

if space is not an issue and you want the best quality what bit-rate to you encode your mp3's in

If space truly is not an issue, you want to use un-encoded WAV files for perfect CD quality. Even at 320kbps, MP3-encoded files are lesser than WAV, though nobody will be able to tell the difference. WAV files are also perfectly gapless on the empeg, whereas MP3 files sometimes have gaps due to frame boundaries, unless you're really careful with encoding.

It's more than just bitrate, beelzebub. click here.

I use masic match jutebox to rip and encode my MP3's is that an ok one to use ??

Sometimes the empeg is like a shiny black monolyth landing in the middle of another world..

If you don't feel that you have the facility to decide for yourself, let someone else decide for you. Or at least provide a few reasonable options. To that extent, check out the --alt-preset presets in LAME. (You can run lame --alt-preset help to get some more information about them.)

If you decide to explore Lame (and EAC) for your ripping and encoding needs this link should be helpful.

OMFG, I'm wiping the tears from my face now. SE, that message takes the grand prize.

I also use music match jukebox to encode my cd's. I encode them at 192kbps cbr with error correction. The music match came with a soundblaster live card I got awhile ago, but anyway I think my empeg sounds great with this setup and I have many pink floyd albums on there and you can't even hear a gap bettween tracks. But really I would say go with what you like.