A unified review is presented of two methods for the prediction of the dynamic effective properties of inhomogeneous media, and effective sound speeds and attenuations are calculated in four possible cases by the two methods. The goal is to assess the agreement/disagreement of the methods in a number of relevant physical situations. With the present form of our effective medium theory (EMT), excellent agreement is found in two of the four possible cases, and mild to strong disagreement in the other two. A physical and mathematical interpretation/explanation for the comparison is given, and a prescription is offered to make the disagreeing cases agree. Advantages/disadvantages of both methods and a number of conclusions emerge. The present comparison was prompted as a reply to a letter [L. Anson and R. C. Chivers, ‘‘Ultrasonic propagation in suspensions,’’ (private communication, 1987)] recently received by the authors.
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Gaunaurd et al. (1989) studied this question.