Mac Mini struggling to copy/rip some older audio CDs

Hello,
I have a 2012 Mac Mini, 2.6Ghz Quad-Core i7, 1TB Fusion Drive and 16GB of Crucial memory. Some months back I made a decision to re-rip my CD library as Apple Lossless, for streaming to the Apple TV connected to my receiver. I started with my newest CDs and worked backwards, but when I got down to the oldest of my CDs there were some (but not all) that the Mini struggled to rip cleanly or at all. With those troublesome discs, the results varied. Some discs would simply flat-out fail to rip or even copy to the desktop directly from the disc. Others would struggle to rip or copy but appear to succeed, only for the tracks to be riddled with millisecond audio drop-outs (this is actually more of a hassle, as it requires manually proofing every track for flaws). What's really bizarre is that even a directly copied file from disc to desktop would suffer the same audio drop-outs, even though it's a digital file going through no conversion and should be identical in every way.
So the logical conclusion would be that these discs have just gone bad due to age; but there-in lies the catch. Not only do the discs play without issue in other CD players, but I was able to successfully copy the same CDs on three other Macs (even using the same external optical drive in one case) successfully. The disc I ripped yesterday on my Mac Mini whose tracks were full of audio drop-outs now sounds flawless when ripped on my Mac Pro at work.
Obviously I have a workaround for getting these discs loaded - rip them on another computer - but now my bigger concern is what on earth if wrong with my Mac Mini? Is it a hardware issue? Something with the USB ports? Or the Fusion drive? The Operating System? Does anyone have any suggestions to try prior to me making a second backup of all my data and dragging it to the Genius Bar? Thanks.

I have both:
- an internal slot-loading drive in my mini, like you, and
- an external USB-connected 5.25" mains-powered tray-loading drive.  A "proper" drive!
I too have problems sometimes reading/writing with the internal.  I've always assumed they have to make LOTS of compromises and shortcuts with the design and specification of the slim, low-powered internal drives, which are really intended for laptop/battery use- and always failing, as reading threads here will show.
I suggest you beg/borrow/buy a "real" external like mine for your old-CD rips. They're not expensive, and you can always sell it on when you've ripped your CD collection. 
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/VLU2SD24XS/
Alternatively, these days, you might have to buy an enclosure and drive separately and combine them, or get a used one off eBay.

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