McIntosh takes the
unusual step of man-
ufacturing its own
printed circuit boards
rather than relying
on mass-produced
pieces. Expensive, yes,
but the company says
it ensures quality. Al-
though machines tackle
the assembly of tiny
pieces, human tech-
nicians meticulously
add larger items like
transistors, resistors,
and the like following
color-coded diagrams
that map their precise
placement. Particularly
complex equipment
like home-theater pro-
cessors may contain as
many as 11,000 parts.