I have always felt that listening to your mixes on more than one set of studio monitors was very important to get a balanced mix through all frequencies that are present in the recording.  While a very good pair of studio near-field monitors are necessary for editing, clinical listening and frequency equalizing, they are not what people will be listening to their music on.   Another way to get a reasonable representation of what the public will hear is to make sure you check your mixes against different play back systems and loudspeakers.

In the studio I have three pairs of small, good quality consumer monitors which I can access at a push of a button.  They are all located in different room positions as well.  It is always interesting to hear the difference of each set and how they relay the audio information back.  Some are rear ported and some front ported. Some have metal based tweeters and some are textile based.  I also use each with and without a subwoofer.  I will listen to mixes in automobiles, which is another great resource for checking the mix quality.

In this day and age, the finished recording will be listened to on ear buds, headphones,  and computers with less than brilliant playback properties!   I remember spending a bunch of time on a mix for a client and was really excited about letting him hear it.  I drove out to his place and handed him a CDR with the mix examples.  He then proceeded to put the disc in the dvd player and we listened to it through his Sony TV set.  Ehhh!   Important lesson learned.

Now, more than ever, many challenges await those who try to mix music.  When I was growing up, everyone had a stereo system of some kind, even if it was a modest one.  Another fact to consider is that a large percentage of people are listening to your meticulous mixes, that you agonized over for hours on end, on their computer laptops, tablets, and cell phones.   A whole other ball of wax.  Oh boy, I best rest my case!