fret_man
Interesting read on using pink noise as a reference. That article includes a link to download free test tones, including pink noise. But does Platinum already come with instruments that can generate pink noise?

I downloaded an mp3 of pink noise and did initial mixing levels against that.  I found that it was useful, but I had to make quite a few adjustments afterwards.

Mixing in mono can accomplish the same thing as using pink noise in most cases.  Using pink noise is like listening to a demo of your mix in your car with the windows open.

Tip 130.

Here's a plug-in I find very useful (place it in your Master buss after your last Limiter plug-in, and use it to A/B your mix to something else.

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/50-Mastering-/1957-MagicAB-2
 

Many good tips in this thread.
Four steps I do when I'm in last 25% finishing project in Sonar or earlier ..... But this is just me. Consistency is king sometimes.

1. Make sure I listen to song(s) in mono. *Odds are I've been flipping to mono time to time already. Finish the project NOT with headphones. But using headphones time to time while working.
2. Listen to project through Echo or another single speaker (popular!) system at minimum bit rate such as 320kps.
3. This is a must as well..... listen to the project in at least two automobiles, while driving them.
4. Listen to the project in at least two person's home stereo systems.

These four actions have for the most part kept me from "being surprised in a bad way" when someone who's opinion I value starts a sentence with "I was listening to your songs and ........"

I'm guessing from the opening post that the OP has a living situation where he has to accommodate others and keep his volume levels in check all or most of the time ...That's where this post is gonna be coming from ...
 
I had hit a brick wall trying to figure out what I can do in my situation since I'm in that situation at my current apt ....
A few quick opinions here on how I solved my situation ...
 
I didn't think that throwing money at plugs and hoping that would solve my situation was the right answer for me .
Why ? because I have plenty of excellent plugs already in what came with SONAR and my 3 rd party purchases ..
 
My living space is totally untreated so the moment I turn the music up I may be fighting with my own living space with out the benefit of really hearing what the plugs will add as they would in a treated room  
 
I wound up tracking a lot with a very decent set of headphones and running my powered studio monitors at mouse whisper volumes  ...
Yeah sure, the headphones were great for editing yet I did not trust them at all for my journeys in creating my sounds one bit ...I'm looking to get my sounds out of my head and into the world ..
 
I ruined a lot of my mix's trying to mix w headphones only . My powered monitors I had better luck with , yet even then I could never run them long enough at the times of the day and nights I love to record and mix .
I always had to pick and choose my times mixing through my monitors wisely due to having working people and small children as my neighbors on all sides ... 
Then to add insult to injury , even after getting to use my studio monitors to record and mix , when I was done I would chill out and watch a little TV with my pooch and my TV had much better sounding sounds coming out it it ...I was Like WTF Universe what are you trying to tell me here ...
Then I remembered for every problem there is , there is also the seed of the solution contained already within the problem 
Eventually I found a solution that works for me .I'm not sure if it's gonna be of any help to the OP , but hey I may as well state it here ..it may be of help to someone else .
I went out and bought a small rectangular USB powered Bluetooth w 2 internal speakers that has an aux input ...
I didn't want to run Bluetooth only , I wanted to run the speakers aux in from my sound cards headphone out ..
(my sound card for PC is a Focusrite 2i4 ...)
This little guy charges VIA USB and once it's charged it lasts between 4 or 5 hours ...
I'm shocked at how much functionality this solution has brought in to my music & recording time ..
I've always stayed mono up until the final phases of song mixing . I actually prefer to use the little BT speakers over my powered monitors for setting my levels and carving EQ's ...
Of course it goes with out saying that yes I will check the mix out with the monitors at some point ...
the thing is I have gotten much better results using this as opposed to just using the studio monitors only ...
 
Why has this been so ? these speakers can be very loud and yet they are much closer to what the average persons listening environment is  ...this has actually helped me in a few areas ...
I'm not making enough noise for any one to complain , it sounds like I'm listening to the TV outside my pad ...
I have check out tunes I have mixed before using this little rig and the mix's did not  translate well being played over my chomebooks speakers or cell phone ...
In contrast the mix's I have done with the BT speakers have sounded very decent certainly within the ball park for those type of listening mediums ...
As an added side benefit I can dial up some amp sims in SONAR and get a pretty decent little sound going on for practice ..not loud enough to play over drums , certainly loud enough to jam with a group of players while working out song parts ...
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny   
 

Guys,
Thank-you so much for being so generous with your advice and the time you've put into it, I really appreciate it.
I thought you would like to know that the track is finished, or at least, I ran out of time.
Remember the track was for a competition; they provided some (very limited) samples and you had to incorporate them into an original track.  I challenged myself a bit more and used ONLY the samples and nothing else; there were no drums or percussion so I had to take micro-samples and apply various amounts of destruction to get something usable.  The competition deadline was today, so here is the track:-
 
https://soundcloud.com/simon-godfrey-712294552/travel-made-100-from-deruxform-samples-only
 
In the end I have mixed feelings about it.  I'm sure this happens to musicians a lot - I recall that Freddie Mercury was totally insecure about Bohemian Rhapsody after he'd written it, not that I'm comparing!!  Anyway, there were some issues that I didn't manage to resolve completely:-  I would've liked it louder, but each time I tried, something started sounding wrong.  I think it needed compression to bring up some of the quieter percussion clicks, but I couldn't achieve it without them sounding too loud and just wrong.  Maybe it's in the nature of using a micro-sample, I don't know.  One thing I do know is that I have a lot to learn about mixing and mastering!
 
Anyway, I've had a good time.  I've pushed my abilities and learned new things.  I have some new tools for mixing and mastering.  It's been fun!  One abiding thought I have right now, is that I don't have any friends or acquaintances who I can sit down with that are into this stuff.  I need a mentor!
 
Thanks again Guys,
Simon

I use both.

Yet another vote for Sonarworks Headphone correction.  I use ARC for my studio monitors, so I was already familiar with how much correction software has helped me in the past.  I spend a lot of time traveling, so having a headphone monitoring situation I can trust to be productive on is very important.  I'm using Beyerdynamic DT 770 (80 ohms) currently with Sonarworks.
 
Best of luck,
 
David Spires

another thought when checking the mix, lay your headphone down with the openings facing up. you then get a fairly good idea of what the mix sounds like when very quiet and with little low end. you'll be able to spot things which jump out or are buried pretty quickly. similar to the process you might use with a mono speaker.