currently i have EAC setup to allow 1 instance of LAME to run while EAC continues to rip. i have a hefty machine so speed isnt an issue. my question is: is it better to encode after EAC is done ripping? or does it not matter? i just want to make sure im getting the absolutely best quality.

Quality is not affected. The files should be bit identical.

it only potentially matters when doing burst ripping, which used to require nearly real-time execution to complete without errors. With secure ripping it isn't an issue just because of the nature of secure ripping. High CPU usage isn't going to affect it like it potentially would with a straight burst rip.

Damn, I just ripped all my CDs with EAC sitting idle while LAME encoded each track for fear of introducing blips into something. I could have halved the time!

Not really halved, since the ripping process takes quite some CPU power, too... but at least reduced.

Not to mention the more accurate tagging.