tl;dr - the 9 is awesome!
Background - in early February, I posted to the Modern Shaving Systems some info about me and my desire to try an electric:
44 years old. Sensitive skin. I shave with a cartridge on Monday and Thursday right now and find that I'm great all day and at least through half of the day after. Off Wednesday so skin gets a break that day and on weekends. I was using Gillette Fusion for years and a badger brush with Proraso soap in a bowl then finish with Nivea sensitive aftershave balm. Switched to Shick Hydro 5 Sensitive last year whcih I think I like better but am suddenly getting lots of irritation hours after the shave that is lasting a day or two without any obvious burn. Hair is not curly. Almost always shave right after a morning shower. Tend to do two passes with the grain on cheeks, one pass with the grain everywhere else. Could never handle going against the grain. I tried a safety blade once years ago and just couldn't get a handle on it.
I received lots of good advice from that thread and ended up going with the brand new Braun Series 6 6075cc which I got from Amazon for $120. I chose the 6 as it claimed to be a great fit for sensitive skin and was a perfect price point. I used the 6 for a month and found my skin far preferred the electric to manual shaves. No irritation using a dry method of Williams 'Lectric - wait 30 secs - shave with/against grain - witch hazel - shower - Nivea aftershave. All was going well until I accidentally dropped the head while cleaning it and the foils became dislodged. I was able to reseat them but I found the shaver was now pulling more than before. Unfortunately, replacement heads for the brand new 6 are not available yet. I had a decision to make (switch to manual and wait for a new 6 head, buy another 6, or upgrade to a 7/9) and decided to upgrade to a series 9.
I found a great deal on the Series 9 9295cc for $208 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. This was the outgoing model as Braun just put out a new version of the 9 but every review I found claimed the shave was identical. At a saving of $100, it seemed like a no-brainer.
I've shaved twice with the new Series 9 and it really is better than the 6 in every way but one (I hate the chrome finish).
In looking at the specs, the 6 runs at 8,000 RPM for each of its three parts (2 foil and 1 cutter in middle) whereas the 9 runs at 10,000 RPM for each of its 4 cutters.
I started with the 9 on 3 days growth and the shaver just plowed through the hairs without hesitation. I had nothing to compare my prior series 6 to but now that I could I found the following:
1. The Series 6 required far more runs than the 9 to get all the hairs cut
2. The 6 would occasionally snag on longer growth - especially in the chin area
3. There are a couple of spots where I have to go backwards and against the grain (literally backing up the shaver) and this was borderline uncomfortable with the 6 but smoother with the 9
4. The 9 definitely got more flat hairs but still missed a few on the neck despite best efforts
5. The easy pop up trimmer of the 9 meant I could get those stray hairs quickly and then switch right back to the shaver to clean up the area. On the 6, it required removing the foil head, putting on the trimmer head, cutting the strays then switching the head back to finish.
6. The 9 definitely gets warmer than the 6 but not uncomfortably so.
7. I prefer the look of the 9 clean station without that arm but think the 6 clean station with the arm is better for the device long-term as I could decide to not charge the device to 100% (no gauge so approximately) to keep the LiION battery healthier for longer in theory. Also the 9 clean station fan is annoying in that it runs for 30-40 minutes after the cleaning part.
Really long post but hope it is helpful for some. When I bought the 6, I had no idea I would like electrics so much. Had I known that (and that the 9 was just as good for sensitive skin), I would have gone with the series 7 or 9 from the start. The retail price of the 9 is very, very high at $300. Getting one (even in chrome) for $208 made the 'upgrade' possible.
I like knowing that I won't have to pay for skipping days with the 9 in the form of more passes and having the foils snag a bit on the chin. I love the integrated trimmer for ease of use. To go back to the Background, I still shave on Mon and Thurs right now as I am home and doing all video stuff so can get away with 1-2 days growth. I find that I am still mostly 'clean shaven' by 5pm with the 9 though I do have blonde/light brown hair so that helps delay the 5 o'clock shadow from showing.
Happy to answer any questions about the 6 vs 9 if you have any.
Background - in early February, I posted to the Modern Shaving Systems some info about me and my desire to try an electric:
44 years old. Sensitive skin. I shave with a cartridge on Monday and Thursday right now and find that I'm great all day and at least through half of the day after. Off Wednesday so skin gets a break that day and on weekends. I was using Gillette Fusion for years and a badger brush with Proraso soap in a bowl then finish with Nivea sensitive aftershave balm. Switched to Shick Hydro 5 Sensitive last year whcih I think I like better but am suddenly getting lots of irritation hours after the shave that is lasting a day or two without any obvious burn. Hair is not curly. Almost always shave right after a morning shower. Tend to do two passes with the grain on cheeks, one pass with the grain everywhere else. Could never handle going against the grain. I tried a safety blade once years ago and just couldn't get a handle on it.
I received lots of good advice from that thread and ended up going with the brand new Braun Series 6 6075cc which I got from Amazon for $120. I chose the 6 as it claimed to be a great fit for sensitive skin and was a perfect price point. I used the 6 for a month and found my skin far preferred the electric to manual shaves. No irritation using a dry method of Williams 'Lectric - wait 30 secs - shave with/against grain - witch hazel - shower - Nivea aftershave. All was going well until I accidentally dropped the head while cleaning it and the foils became dislodged. I was able to reseat them but I found the shaver was now pulling more than before. Unfortunately, replacement heads for the brand new 6 are not available yet. I had a decision to make (switch to manual and wait for a new 6 head, buy another 6, or upgrade to a 7/9) and decided to upgrade to a series 9.
I found a great deal on the Series 9 9295cc for $208 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. This was the outgoing model as Braun just put out a new version of the 9 but every review I found claimed the shave was identical. At a saving of $100, it seemed like a no-brainer.
I've shaved twice with the new Series 9 and it really is better than the 6 in every way but one (I hate the chrome finish).
In looking at the specs, the 6 runs at 8,000 RPM for each of its three parts (2 foil and 1 cutter in middle) whereas the 9 runs at 10,000 RPM for each of its 4 cutters.
I started with the 9 on 3 days growth and the shaver just plowed through the hairs without hesitation. I had nothing to compare my prior series 6 to but now that I could I found the following:
1. The Series 6 required far more runs than the 9 to get all the hairs cut
2. The 6 would occasionally snag on longer growth - especially in the chin area
3. There are a couple of spots where I have to go backwards and against the grain (literally backing up the shaver) and this was borderline uncomfortable with the 6 but smoother with the 9
4. The 9 definitely got more flat hairs but still missed a few on the neck despite best efforts
5. The easy pop up trimmer of the 9 meant I could get those stray hairs quickly and then switch right back to the shaver to clean up the area. On the 6, it required removing the foil head, putting on the trimmer head, cutting the strays then switching the head back to finish.
6. The 9 definitely gets warmer than the 6 but not uncomfortably so.
7. I prefer the look of the 9 clean station without that arm but think the 6 clean station with the arm is better for the device long-term as I could decide to not charge the device to 100% (no gauge so approximately) to keep the LiION battery healthier for longer in theory. Also the 9 clean station fan is annoying in that it runs for 30-40 minutes after the cleaning part.
Really long post but hope it is helpful for some. When I bought the 6, I had no idea I would like electrics so much. Had I known that (and that the 9 was just as good for sensitive skin), I would have gone with the series 7 or 9 from the start. The retail price of the 9 is very, very high at $300. Getting one (even in chrome) for $208 made the 'upgrade' possible.
I like knowing that I won't have to pay for skipping days with the 9 in the form of more passes and having the foils snag a bit on the chin. I love the integrated trimmer for ease of use. To go back to the Background, I still shave on Mon and Thurs right now as I am home and doing all video stuff so can get away with 1-2 days growth. I find that I am still mostly 'clean shaven' by 5pm with the 9 though I do have blonde/light brown hair so that helps delay the 5 o'clock shadow from showing.
Happy to answer any questions about the 6 vs 9 if you have any.
