Apple Audio Output levels / monitor calibration

Hello all. I am mixing sfx and foley out of my macbook pro, and as a student on a very limited budget, I am forced to monitor with a consumer stereo - run of the mill Sony surround receiver, powering a pair of JBL Northridge N26II's. I know, bad reference and probably a frequency curve that is not even close to flat, but it is all I have access to right now for the bulk of my work. I have limited studio time with monitors, and I plan to use this to touch up these mixes that were done on the JBL's. The idea is that I do the bulk of my work, then bring it into the studio, hopefully to be able to salvage the mix. At least it is better than headphones.
Anyway, I am attempting to calibrate my system, and I have a few questions. To get the audio out (at line level I believe, through the headphone jack on the MBP), I am wondering at what level I should set my system volume. Is the zero at the highest setting, as indicated on the volume slider in the Audio Output section of the Audio MIDI Setup program in OSX? Or is this amplifying the signal?
Also, I have been told that I could use the ref. tone generated when one puts the bars up in Final Cut Pro to calibrate my monitoring setup, thus assuming that every level slider is at zero on the way from the audio source (say tone in FCP, or tracks of audio in STP or logic), I could adjust the receiver's volume control to playback the tone at a comfortable level and keep it there for the duration of the mix. Is this legit, or do I have some flaws in this plan?

Hello all. I am mixing sfx and foley out of my macbook pro, and as a student on a very limited budget, I am forced to monitor with a consumer stereo - run of the mill Sony surround receiver, powering a pair of JBL Northridge N26II's. I know, bad reference and probably a frequency curve that is not even close to flat, but it is all I have access to right now for the bulk of my work. I have limited studio time with monitors, and I plan to use this to touch up these mixes that were done on the JBL's. The idea is that I do the bulk of my work, then bring it into the studio, hopefully to be able to salvage the mix. At least it is better than headphones.
Anyway, I am attempting to calibrate my system, and I have a few questions. To get the audio out (at line level I believe, through the headphone jack on the MBP), I am wondering at what level I should set my system volume. Is the zero at the highest setting, as indicated on the volume slider in the Audio Output section of the Audio MIDI Setup program in OSX? Or is this amplifying the signal?
Also, I have been told that I could use the ref. tone generated when one puts the bars up in Final Cut Pro to calibrate my monitoring setup, thus assuming that every level slider is at zero on the way from the audio source (say tone in FCP, or tracks of audio in STP or logic), I could adjust the receiver's volume control to playback the tone at a comfortable level and keep it there for the duration of the mix. Is this legit, or do I have some flaws in this plan?

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