Brand-new equations which can be regarded as modifications of Khokhlov–Zabolotskaya–Kuznetsov or Ostrovsky–Vakhnenko equations are suggested. These equations are quite general in that they describe the nonlinear wave dynamics in media with modular nonlinearity. Such media exist among composites, meta-materials, inhomogeneous and multiphase systems. These new models are interesting because of two reasons: (1) the equations admit exact analytic solutions and (2) the solutions describe real physical phenomena. The equations model nonlinear focusing of wave beams. It is shown that inside the focal zone a stationary waveform exists. Steady-state profiles are constructed by the matching of functions describing the positive and negative branches of exact solutions of an equation of Klein–Gordon type. Such profiles have been observed many times during experiments and numerical studies. The non-stationary waves can contain singularities of two types: discontinuity of the wave and of its derivative. These singularities are eliminated by introducing dissipative terms into the equations—thereby increasing their order. © 2017 The Author(s)