Hi,
I bought both. I bought, foolishily, on the back of the awards review in this magazine and waited forever for the AKG's to come back into stock and when they did I was seriously underwhelmed. I really dont get why they won the award? I know its a personal thing but to me the AKG's just dont cut it. And this was when I bought them for £49.95 from Richer Sounds in Maidstone.
A few pointers:
I am a 6ft 3" big guy.
1.They looked seriously silly on me - too small.
2.They leaked sound - but Im guessing this is because I have big ears and they simply didnt fit. Others have said they dont but at loud volumes they did for me.
3.Sound is good but not imo award winning.
4.The package you get however is excellent - case is good, very portable - fold into themselves rather clevily and you get a choice of leads plus an adapter for an av / amp headphone input. All areas are covered.
5.I listen to alot of hip hop and dance (as well as everything else) and they just are not bassy enough for my tastes.
Anyway, took em back after listening to Audio-Technica's ATH-WS55i in HMV - again, imo, you get so much more sound for your pound with these. The solid bass system really makes the difference. Plus, you get a remote and mic that works with my Iphone perfectly (you can skip tracks etc and it all works).
Must say RS were brilliant - they took my AKG's back and let me have a full refund to pay for the £89 ish (think thats what I paid) A-Technicas.
They dont leak any sound - I can easily have the volume at half even in bed without disturbing the wife if she is asleep next to me (not something I regularly do but have tested it never a less).
The only downsides I have found is that they are a bit bulkier and the lead is not as long as the AKG's. Also, as stated the whole package is not as comprehensive (no case / no adapter etc).
Anyways - to me its all about the sound - and imo they are just better.
As ever though - try (if you can) before you buy.
Hope this helps.