Diamond buffers

[Nordic]

Ok, stupid question time, what exactly is a diamond buffer.

It looks to me at first glance like a way of keeping the power rails balanced like a resistor divider except, it is on the output side?

I can find many pages with PCBs and diffirent diamond buffers, but none of them clearly tell me what the hell I should do with one if I built it, what are the limitations? If it does sit on the output side I would imagine power limits...

Please connect a few dots... I'm a quick study normaly, I promise...

 

[Juergen Knoop]

I´m curious too!
don´t know exactly what a diamond buffer is, but it maybe referencing to these pushpull-emitter followers,
where two emitter followers, one npn - one pnp, symmetrically drive a AB-pushpull output stage.
Regards

 

[kristleifur]

On page two of this PDF is a schematic of a diamond buffer:

http://tangentsoft.net/audio/ppa/amp2/misc/schematic8.pdf

They're pretty popular for headphone amplifiers. Check the head-fi.org and headwize.com forums for more info.

 

[Nordic]

Like I said, getting a circuit no problem, but what does it do?

 

[Juergen Knoop]

it is used to provide more output current to a given voltage source, i.e to "buffer" it.
Think of it as a more elaborate emitter follower.

 

[kristleifur]

And as I said:

Check the head-fi.org and headwize.com forums for more info.

 

[hifimaker]

Do a google search for Jung Diamond buffer. You will find the source documents by Walter Jung.

-David

 

[Juergen Knoop]

ok, I did it...
But why this is called a diamond buffer?
My textbook refers these circuits as push-pull emitter followers widely used in integrated circuits.
Regards
Jürgen