File formats XLD and others

Hi all. I'm in the process of ripping my CDs onto an external HDD for playback via my mac mini and into my Supernait. ( At some stage in the near future I will be auditioning a Naim DAC so this needs to be considered )

I'm new to this ripping malarkey and want to know I'm on the right lines before I get too far down the road and have to re-rip several hundred CDs. Here's my regime.

I'm using XLD and my settings for ripping are using the XLD secure ripper and asking it to check accuracy and verify suspicious sectors. I left the "treat accurate rip mismatch as inconsistency in log" un-ticked for some reason ( must have read it somewhere ). I'm saving files to my iTunes folder on an external HDD connected to the Mac mini via firewire. Does all this sound all right?  If I knew how to post a screenshot of my settings, I'd do it.

Now to the nub of my concerns. I seem to recollect reading on here that some file formats worked better with particular software and equipment than others due to the way it decodes them or somesuch. IIRC the idea was that WAV produced good files for Naim gear. Is this correct or am I mistaken? I've been ripping to AIFF so far  but can change now as I've only ripped a few CDs. If there is a better option please will you confirm?

Also I intend to change from iTunes to something like Audirvana at some point so I don't know if that will affect things.

Is there a guide to recommended XLD settings at all?

Thanks for your advice