In the fall of 1999, a couple of Canadian high-end audio companies got together to pool resources with the idea that two heads were better than one when it came to certain new products. Simaudio of Boucherville, Quebec and Magnum Dynalab of Brampton, Ontario formed a strategic alliance with the purpose of sharing various technologies to further enhance each company's product lines.

Simaudio's experience in designing and manufacturing power amplifiers, preamplifiers, and integrated amplifiers combined with Magnum Dynalab's expertise in analog FM tuners, provided the foundation to develop what the companies hoped would be new and innovative products. The results were indeed successful, and garnered the pair a favorable review from Chip Stern back in January of 2001 and Larry Greenhill the following March for Dynalab's MD208 receiver.

In addition to the MD208, the two-year design collaboration also resulted in Simaudio's Moon Air analog FM tuner (based on Magnum's MD102 tuner) and the Magnum Dynalab MD308 Integrated Amplifier (like the MD208 receiver, using a variation of the Moon i-5080 integrated amplifier). Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield says that "market penetration for all three products has been well beyond the expectations initially hoped for."

However, even good things must pass, and the companies announced last week that effective January 1, 2002, this alliance "has come to a successful end, with both companies having gained valuable technical expertise for current and future independent endeavors." Goodfield comments that the relationship continues to be beneficial. "We have both broadened our reach for potential consumers of high-end audio components."