Must be tired today, it took me reading the entire thread to finally get what GBIR meant
When I at first started I would sometimes use my Senn 280 cans to get a rough idea about mic placement, but even then I would as others have suggested record and play back a short take, and monitor on my speakers .
Now days I pretty much know, what general position I like and will only experiment with distance from mic's (also by record then play back) to decide how much presence I want for the particular music I am doing .