D&M, who also owns the Denon, Marantz and McIntosh brands, announced that it will no longer make Rio products after September 30th, 2005. The company cited increased competition in the mass-market portable digital audio player market.

The closing of the Rio lines, purchased from SonicBlue in early 2003, will allow D&M to focus on the more profitable premium consumer electronics brands.

Analysts are viewing this decision as a blow to companies like Microsoft, RealNetworks, Napster and other Apple rivals that operate online music services based on Microsoft and/or open standards. The exit of Rio leaves Creative Technology (maker of the Nomad and Zen music players), Samsung and a handful of other music players that operate on these other standards.