Braun's new best razor
I'm going to approach this review primarily as a comparison between the 7 series and 9 series.  I assume that anyone looking at this razor is in the market for something very high end and therefore the real question in mind is &#34;is it worth the upcharge to go from a 7 series to a 9?&#34;<br /><br />In all of the images I've attached, the 9 series is on the left and the 7 series is on the right.<br />I've been using a Braun 790-cc exclusively for the last year, so I am pretty familiar with the Braun shaver head style.  I've always preferred the foil razors over rotary shavers.<br /><br />Footprint of Clean and Charge station<br /><br />For each of these two units the Clean and Charge station takes up about the same amount of space.  The 9 series is a little bulkier, but not significantly enough that it would cause a problem.  The main difference is that for the 7 series the razor is tilted, which I suppose allows better draining after running the clean cycle.<br />In the 7 series unit, the cleaning cartridge loads from the front.  I thought this made a lot of sense as once the cap is off it can slosh around a little bit and potentially spill on the counter if you have to do too much handling.  This was not carried over into the newer 9 series.  The 9 series loads the cleaning solution from the back, which I did not appreciate at all.  This means the entire unit has to be moved in order to put in a new cartridge.  To me, this is a major design flaw, as most people will place their charger right back up against the mirror and the area in front of it will eventually fill with odds and ends.  The end result is that changing the cleaning cartridge in the 9 series is not good (and given that the whole top pops up on springs to change it there's no reason they couldn't have front loaded).<br /><br />Size and handling of unit<br /><br />The 9 series razor is definitely chunkier.  It's still ergonomic enough to fit well in the hand.  Both units have pivoting heads.  The head locking mechanism (to prevent it from changing angle to hit hard to reach spots) is more convenient on the 9 series, being the large button on the handle of the unit.  The head lock for the 790 is on the head of the unit and pretty easily snaps to new orientations when engaged, although I haven't found a whole lot of need for it.  The head of the 9 series unit is also significantly bigger, meaning being able to lock it is a bigger deal.<br />The battery life on both shavers is excellent.  I haven't seen the 9 series lose a bar over a couple days use and I have taken my 7 on business trips for a week or more at a time and never had to plug them it in.<br />One other big big difference between the two units is the longer hair trimmer.  I've attached an image with the review of each of them extended.  The 9 series comes straight up from the back parallel to the handle of the unit, which I consider to be the traditional conformation for foil razors.  The 7 series sticks out perpendicular from the back of the unit and is much harder to use, as it lead to awkward hand placement in order to see what you were cutting in the mirror.  This was one of the main complaints for last year's model and I'm glad to see they fixed it.<br />Last but not least, the unit power for the 9 series is automatically controlled by the unit.  The 7 series you dial it in yourself.  This could be a selling point for some, but I didn't really find much difference either way.  I usually left the 7 dialed all the way up anyways.<br /><br />Visual Appeal<br /><br />I can't deny that the 9 series is a very attractive razor.  All of the blue lights that hide behind the black plastic on the base unit look really nice next to the blue power readings on the handle of the unit itself.  It looks like something straight out of the future.  However, some of the information is lost in presenting it this way.  The 7 series had a battery and hygiene gauge on the back of the handle which was very intuitive, although less attractive.  The battery indicator for the 9 is still just as easy to read, but the hygiene indicator has changed to just be the cleaning drops, indicating how long it will clean for.  I liked how everything was presented on the 7, but I understand why they changed it.<br /><br />Shave quality<br /><br />Perhaps the most important part of the review - how well do they stack up?  The 9 definitely delivers a better shave in less time.  The first time I used it I was caught off guard because it felt like it was catching a lot using the amount of pressure I usually do with the 7 series.  It was a little off-putting until I felt the results afterwards.  Wow.  It was almost as good as a straight razor, which is quite a step up from where foil razors typically live.  In comparison, the 790 was more like straight razor plus 4 hours in terms of shave quality.  You could always feel a little bit left if you were willing to look for it.  The 9 also took less passes.<br />The 9 series also is a wet/dry shaver, which means you can use shaving cream with it for that little extra boost.  I didn't try it with shaving cream, as my old razor was dry only.  Both shavers are waterproof, so you can use them in the shower if you want.<br />Upkeep<br /><br />Both units use the same cleaning cartridges, which is great, but have different heads.  The razor cartridge should be changed every 18 months for each per Braun's instructions.  The price of the 9 series head is ~ double that of the 7 series.<br /><br />Overall verdict<br /><br />The 9 is definitely a better razor, both visually and performance-wise, but the price tag is double that of the other high end Braun models.  If money is less of a concern and you really just want the best performance the 9290 is where it's at.  If money is somewhat of a concern and you want something that still does a really good job, go with a 7.
Rating: 5 stars