Been curious about these headphones ever since they were introduced, happened to spotted them on sale last week and couldn't resist so bought them.

The advertised elimination of 99.8% of background noise was bit of a letdown and with closer examination they actually only promise it in the bass range (where it matters the most, as they say), so they probably aren't lying. Still it does seem to make the sound clearer and the bass more snappier. Will have to try them in the bus tomorrow, which is the use I wanted the noise cancellation for.

Sound quality is quite acceptable, probably doesn't lose much to my FutureSonics Atrio M5, although would love to get Comply Comfy tips for it for extra sound isolation. My Ultrasone HFI-780 does have more soundstage and overall better quality, but that's to be expected.

Plugs are pretty comfortable in the ears and seem to hold well, even when I had the unit hanging by the cord. The clip works well and apparently it even comes with a neck strap, but didn't try that yet.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the purchase, at least with the 60e price. Finally get some use for the NFC, don't have to be tangled with the cord all the time and can control the playback so much easier, especially since the lock screen music controls don't work with spotify or audiobook player. I do recommend it!

It seems rare. I was looking for availability and cannot find anywhere to import from.

I got mine from AUS, but they are pretty bad ***.

I had been looking for the Essence in stores for some time too in vain, so was surprised to stumble into them with such a good price, but I don't think I would have bought them at MSRP.

Today I was using them in the bus and was playing around a bit with the active noise cancelling, and for the low rumbling of the bus it had surprisingly big effect, so it is actually quite ideal device for commuting!

But overall if looking for something over bluetooth, BH-111 probably is much better value for the money at least if you already own decent quality headphones. Bought that one for the wife, and she seems happy too.

Have any of you tried in on a subway or a tram? How well does the noise cancellation work?

Also, is sound quality on par with wired headsets? Or better?

The biggest difference it makes is when travelling in a bus, subway or just walking in the city. It gets rid of the constant engine and tire rumble. It doesn't actively cancel higher-pitched noises like human voice so make sure the earplugs fit your ears well - a good fit not only muffles outside noise but also makes the bass sound better.

I use the neck strap and like it most of the time. The only possible exception is when I have to untangle it, that is annoying.

I could not detect any difference in sound quality between this and a wired headset, but mind you I am not an audiophile.

Thanks for your answer! So, does it suppress the noise of a subway well? (Isn't the noise made by the subway also higher-pitched?)

I heard from enough people that the Essence is good, so decided to buy one for myself. It indeed is very good.

Mostly, it's more convenient than a wired headset (because I can use the phone while listening to music without messing with the wires). Also, NFC pairing works like a charm.

I experience occasional stuttering which is possibly because the wlan (see more about it in WlanScanOff thread).

Generally, the sound quality is a lot better than what I've heard with wired headsets (surprisingly), and the noise cancellation feature just makes it better.

It does cancel out the most annoying noises. Hey, it's more fun to use public transport! But it's not perfect, the higher frequency sounds remain there. But it's a good step forward.

One thing to note: when you pair the Nokia Essence with your computer, the default profile may be set to something other than A2DP. If that is the case, you get very-very crappy sound with it.

If you use a Linux-based OS and PulseAudio is your sound server, here is the solution.

First, determine the index of the Essence with this command:
When you did that, issue the following command (here 1 is the index of my Nokia Essence):
Hope this helps.

costs a bit too much for my liking