Not able to hear "harsh" sound when designing a sound from scratch

[Auplant]

I actually had this problem for a while now.. My problem is that I can't hear when something sounds too harsh on monitors! I am using KRK RP5 monitors and when I design a sound like a punch and add some distortion, it sounds fine on my monitors - really smooth and audible. Then I try to hear the sound on headphones and it sounds horrible like fireworks going off beside your ear...
I am aware that distortion can cause harsh transients and we can use a compressor to fix that, but that's not the problem for me, I can look at a waveform analyzer and use a limiter or compressor to take away unnecessary spikes in the waveform but it still sounds harsh in my headphones, why? Because the mids in the punch are too high after distorting the sound.
I can use my headphones to find out how I need to EQ the sound, but I'm annoyed that it sounds fine through the monitors.. the monitors basically tell me that I don't need to apply EQ, but that's not the reality.
I also struggle to hear the effect of a compressor on these monitors.
Anyone else experience this issue? could this be a problem with THESE monitors?

[chk071]

Maybe the sound of your monitors and headphones differs vastly. I actually have kind of the situation here. My monitors sound very dry, almost clinical, and my headphones have a slight hi-fi touch. It's not that bad though. Maybe it is more severe in your case.

[Auplant]

the thing is that when I EQ away a harsh frequency by maybe about 2.3dB, I can hear this difference on headphones. It just sounds like the exact same sound on the monitors. I just don't get it. I've heard that higher wattage in studio monitors means you'll be able to hear more transient detail. Perhaps it's an issue that the wattage in these monitors is too low?

From the specs..
"Amplification: 75 Watt Bi-amp Dynamic Power, 18 dB Octave Filters"

[Auplant]

I think I need to be looking at bi-amp and tri-amp active monitors. Very pricey though

[himalaya]

I think it's a case of having better quality monitors, and I don't think the KRKs you have are good for sound design work, where being able to hear everything critically is of paramount importance. I have used two different sets of KRK monitors (not in my studio) and felt that they had a 'scooped' sound, which is what may be the reason for the issue you are having. They just hide that particular frequency range, it seems. Depending on how serious you are about your music and sound design I'd be looking to upgrade your monitors.

[do_androids_dream]

I am aware that distortion can cause harsh transients and we can use a compressor to fix that

Distortion causes the opposite - it will lessen transients..

[Auplant]

I am aware that distortion can cause harsh transients and we can use a compressor to fix that

Distortion causes the opposite - it will lessen transients..

Depends on the distortion, because some older distortions (or waveshapers) don't have inbuilt limiting

[do_androids_dream]

I guess what's happening is either you're overdoing the distortion or you have broken headphones. A client of mine was complaining of distortion in some masters I did - audible on his headphones. I couldn't hear it but I redid the masters.. turns out his headphones were buggered.. I got paid twice after he realised

[Auplant]

Think my headphones are ok, and yes, I always overdo the distortion. I like to experiment with huge distortion amounts (just for experimentation). I use hard clippers then after the distortion to avoid digital clipping

I think I will just stick with my headphones for now as a guide since I'm not mad enough yet to pay for tri-amp active monitors

[nineofkings]

Then keep using your headphones when designing sounds. Every medium has blind spots - my Audio Technica headphones have great high end detail but miss a lot in the low mids. Thankfully, I have cheapo earbuds that are all low mids. I use them together cause they complement each other. That's just how it is.

[himalaya]

Working on headphones is no good either. I have a headphone fetish and own 4 studio grade pairs and have worked on 5 others as well. Wouldn't work on any of them for long periods of time for critical listening..well, maybe on Audeze LCDX, which I found to be just perfect. But even so....

Otherwise, really, treat yourself to better monitors, you don't need any fancy stuff either, but you can do much better than the KRKs you've got.

[Auplant]

I think it's a case of having better quality monitors, and I don't think the KRKs you have are good for sound design work, where being able to hear everything critically is of paramount importance. I have used two different sets of KRK monitors (not in my studio) and felt that they had a 'scooped' sound, which is what may be the reason for the issue you are having. They just hide that particular frequency range, it seems. Depending on how serious you are about your music and sound design I'd be looking to upgrade your monitors.

Just saw this post now, thanks for this insight and advice

[do_androids_dream]

Think my headphones are ok, and yes, I always overdo the distortion. I like to experiment with huge distortion amounts (just for experimentation). I use hard clippers then after the distortion to avoid digital clipping

Perhaps you could reassess your approach somewhat.. You're using another distortion device AFTER your creative distortion. A hard clipper will sound like digital, ugly clipping if you drive it. There are parts of the frequency spectrum that tend to always sound unpleasant with distortion - keep an eq handy to lessen those uglier frequencies (7k to 12k I find). Honestly, if distortion was my thing, I would probably be using analogue devices. Plugin distortion/saturation is mostly pretty horrid unless it's in very small amounts imo.

[Auplant]

Would you be able to recommend me a reasonably cheap pair of monitors which let me hear good detail in the mid range? Perhaps a bi-amp active monitor in the price range <1000? I heard good things about Genelec but they are very expensive.

[do_androids_dream]

Would you be able to recommend me a reasonably cheap pair of monitors which let me hear good detail in the mid range? Perhaps a bi-amp active monitor in the price range <1000? I heard good things about Genelec but they are very expensive.

I use Fostex PM 1 MKII's. Bi amped, active - somewhat 'dry' and 'tight' sounding - definitely not 'hi-fi' flattering or coloured but very accurate and revealing - will reveal things that sound nasty very clearly.