Braun Series 9 PRO+ (9677cce) Review: a premium shaver that finally made me stop wet shaving every day

I’ve been using the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9677cce for a bit over three weeks, almost every day, after years of switching between a classic razor and older Braun/Panasonic electrics. Long story short: it shaves really well, feels solid, and the cleaning base is handy, but the price is high and a couple of details are a bit annoying for something positioned as “top of the line”. If you’re expecting a miracle that feels exactly like a perfect wet shave with a fresh blade, that’s not what this is. But it’s close enough that I’ve mostly stopped bothering with manual razors during the week.

My beard is medium to quite thick, grows fast, and my skin is on the sensitive side, especially on the neck. With many rotary shavers I get redness and small bumps. With this Braun, the irritation is clearly lower, especially if I don’t press too hard and let the head glide. I’ve used it both dry and with foam in the shower. Dry is slightly less smooth to the touch but much faster. Wet gives a bit closer result but honestly I rarely bother because the dry shave is already decent.

In real life use, the big selling points for me are: it’s quick (3–5 minutes for a full shave), it handles 2–3 days of growth without struggling, and it doesn’t leave my neck on fire. On the flip side, it’s a big chunk of money up front, the cleaning cartridges are an ongoing cost, and the drying function of the SmartCare station is not as clean and perfect as the marketing suggests. You still sometimes pull out a head that’s damp and smells strongly of alcohol.

If you’re currently using a cheap foil shaver, you’ll probably feel the jump in comfort and speed. If you already own an older Series 9 in good shape, this PRO+ is more of an evolution than a revolution. In that case, just buying the new head might make more sense than buying the whole kit again, unless your battery or trimmer is dying.

Let’s talk price, because that’s the elephant in the room. The Series 9 PRO+ 9677cce is clearly in the high-end bracket. You’re paying for the shaver, the SmartCare station, the PowerCase, and the general Braun “flagship” status. In terms of shave quality and comfort, it’s definitely a step up from entry-level and mid-range foil shavers. Compared to other premium models (like high-end Panasonic foils), it’s competitive, especially on comfort and ease of use. But you’re also buying into a system with ongoing costs: replacement heads and cleaning cartridges are not cheap.

If you shave almost every day, have sensitive skin, and plan to use this for several years, the cost starts to make more sense. Divide the price over, say, five years and it’s not insane per month, even including cartridges and one or two replacement heads. If you’re more of an occasional shaver or you’re fine with a slightly rougher shave, this is probably overkill. A mid-range Braun or even a decent Panasonic could be enough for half the price.

Another thing to consider is whether you really need the full kit. If you already have an older Series 9 in good working order, buying just the new PRO+ head (96M) might be the smarter move. It fits older bodies and gives you most of the cutting benefits without paying again for a new handle, dock, and case. Also, if you don’t care about automatic cleaning, you could go for a Series 9 variant without the SmartCare station and save some money up front and later on cartridges.

For me, the value is “good but not cheap”. The shaver performs well enough that I actually use it daily, which is the main point. But I’m also fully aware that I’m paying a premium not only for performance, but also for a lot of accessories and branding. If your budget is tight, I’d say look at a lower Braun series or an older Series 9 model on discount. If you want one solid, comfortable electric shaver for the next several years and you’re okay with the ongoing costs, then the price becomes easier to justify.

Design-wise, this thing is not small. If you’re used to compact travel shavers, the Series 9 PRO+ will feel chunky at first. The silver finish looks a bit flashy but not cheap, and it at least matches the “high-end” pricing. The handle has rubberized sections that actually help a lot when you’re shaving in the shower or with foam – it doesn’t feel like it’s going to slip out of your hand. The weight is noticeable but not excessive; after a few days you stop thinking about it and just use it.

The shaving head is large and slightly bulky, which is both good and bad. Good because it covers a lot of area quickly – cheeks and neck go fast. Bad because getting into tight spots like right under the nose or around a goatee can be a bit fiddly. You get used to tilting and angling it, but if you’re coming from a smaller foil head, there’s a small learning curve. There’s a head-lock button that lets you fix the pivot in one position for more control, which I use mostly on the upper lip and jawline.

The on/off button is placed where your thumb naturally rests, and there’s a travel lock so it doesn’t start buzzing in a bag. The screen is simple: battery bars, cleaning/head indicators, and a tiny icon that shows the sensor is active. It looks modern but doesn’t really add much beyond telling you how much battery is left. One slightly annoying thing: compared to older Series 9 models, you don’t have a numeric shave counter or anything more precise, just generic indicators.

As for the SmartCare base, it’s a fairly big plastic unit that will take noticeable space on a sink or shelf. It’s not ugly, just very “appliance-like”. You insert the cleaning cartridge on the bottom, then dock the shaver head-down. It’s straightforward, but you do need a bit of permanent space for it and a socket nearby. If your bathroom is tiny, that’s something to think about because this is not a discreet little stand; it’s a real dock that wants to live there full-time.

Battery-wise, Braun claims about 60 minutes of shaving, and that more or less matches what I’ve seen. I got roughly 10–12 full face shaves on a single charge, with each shave around 5 minutes. I usually shave on medium power load (1–2 days growth), so if you’re always attacking three days of stubble, you might get a bit less. The battery indicator is simple, just bars, but it’s enough to know when you’re running low. I never actually managed to fully drain it before recharging because I tend to drop it on the base every few days anyway.

Charging through the SmartCare station is straightforward: dock the shaver, it charges while cleaning (if you run a cycle) or just charges if the cleaning cycle isn’t triggered. You can also plug the cable directly into the shaver without the dock, which is handy if you’re traveling and don’t want to carry the whole station. A full charge from low takes about an hour. There’s also a quick-charge function: a few minutes on the charger gives you enough for a single shave, which saved me once when I forgot to charge for a week.

The PowerCase is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s a sturdy travel case that protects the shaver and has a built-in battery that can recharge the razor roughly once fully (give or take). If you travel often and don’t always have easy access to outlets, that’s actually pretty useful. On the other hand, for home use it’s mostly just a bulky case sitting in a drawer. I used it on a weekend trip and it did what it claims: I didn’t need to bring the main charger, just the case.

Overall, the battery situation is solid. You don’t get fancy readouts, but you also don’t have to think about it much. Charge it once a week or drop it in the dock every few days and you’re fine. The only ongoing annoyance is that the SmartCare station uses cleaning cartridges, so if you rely on that for daily cleaning and charging, you’re buying consumables regularly, which adds to the long-term cost.

On comfort, this is where the Series 9 PRO+ justifies a good chunk of its price. I have a pretty sensitive neck and usually get redness or small bumps if I go over the same area too many times with cheaper electrics or rotaries. With this Braun, as long as I don’t press like a maniac and keep the skin slightly stretched, I finish with far less irritation. The foils glide quite smoothly, especially if you wash your face beforehand and make sure it’s fully dry (for dry shaving) or properly lathered (for wet shaving).

Dry shave: in the morning, on one day’s growth, I need around 3–4 minutes for a full shave. The feeling during the pass is pretty gentle, there’s a bit of warmth from the head but nothing extreme. After the shave, my skin is slightly pink on the neck but it calms down quickly. If I do this every day, my skin still handles it well, which wasn’t the case with some older foil models that left me with constant mild razor burn. On two days’ growth, it takes a bit longer but still remains comfortable; you just hear and feel it working harder.

Wet shave: with a thin layer of shaving foam in the shower, the comfort is even better. The blade glides more easily, and the result is a touch closer. The downside is time – it’s a bit more of a ritual and you have to rinse the head properly afterward, so I only do it when I really want a smoother finish. For everyday office life, the dry shave is good enough and faster. If you have very reactive skin, wet shaving with this might be a good compromise between comfort and speed.

Noise level is moderate – not whisper quiet, but less annoying than most rotary shavers I’ve used. You can easily shave without waking up the whole household. Overall, in terms of comfort, I’d call it one of the best I’ve tried so far, but still not “you feel nothing at all”. You know you’ve shaved, but you’re not on fire, which for me is a win.

For durability, I obviously can’t speak for five years yet, but I can compare it to older Series 9 units I’ve used and to how this one feels after a few weeks. The shaver itself feels robust: no creaky plastic, the head clicks in firmly, and the buttons feel solid. Braun’s track record on this range is generally good – I’ve seen Series 9 units from 2016 still going strong with just head replacements. I’d expect similar here, assuming you don’t drop it or abuse the head. The stainless steel foils don’t feel flimsy, but like any foil, if you drop it head-first on tiles, you’ll probably be buying a new cassette.

The weak point in this whole system is less the shaver and more the SmartCare station. Mechanically it seems sturdy enough, but the drying function is a bit questionable. I’ve had a couple of times where I pulled the shaver out after a cleaning cycle and the head was still quite wet with cleaning fluid, and there are user reviews saying the same (shaver “soaking in alcohol” and dripping). If you’re not careful and move the station around with a cartridge inside, fluid can also slosh or leak. Braun even warns in the manual not to move it with a cartridge installed, which tells you it’s not exactly sealed.

Another durability angle is the cost and frequency of head replacements and cartridges. Braun recommends a new head every 18 months. In reality, if you shave daily with thick hair, you might feel the need to replace a bit earlier; if you shave less often, you might stretch it longer. The replacement heads are not cheap. Same story for the cleaning cartridges: they last me about a month with 2–3 automated cleanings per week. So the shaver body may last years, but there’s a steady cost to keep it at peak performance.

All that said, nothing about the build screams “fragile”. The travel case is tough, the rubber grip holds up fine to water, and the shaver is fully waterproof, so rinsing under the tap is safe. If you don’t care about the dock, you could probably run this for years just by rinsing and occasionally using a spray cleaner. I’d rate durability as good, with the caveat that the cleaning station is a bit fussy and the consumables are where you keep paying.

Out of the box, you get quite a lot of stuff: the Series 9 PRO+ shaver itself, the 6-in-1 SmartCare cleaning/charging station, one cleaning cartridge, the so‑called PowerCase (a travel case with a built-in battery), the regular charger, and a small cleaning brush. The model number 9677cce basically means: silver shaver, SmartCare center included, and the fancier case. The razor is made in Germany, the fluids and plastics obviously come from elsewhere, but overall it doesn’t look or feel cheap.

All the marketing terms can sound like noise, so let’s decode them in normal language. The “5+1 Ultra Thin Precision Blades” is basically four active cutting elements plus some extra bits for lifting and protecting, not six separate blades like a manual razor. The “Pro SensoAdapt” is a sensor that changes the power depending on your beard density. You don’t feel it doing much, but you do notice that it doesn’t bog down too easily when you hit denser patches on the chin or jawline. The “60 min battery life” is more or less correct; I got about 10–12 full shaves before needing a charge.

The SmartCare station cleans, charges, lubricates, and is supposed to dry the shaver. In daily use, you drop the shaver in, press the button, and it picks a cleaning cycle by itself. That part works fine. The PowerCase is basically a hard travel case with a built‑in battery that can recharge the shaver on the go. Nice if you travel a lot and don’t want to carry the dock or even the charger, but for home use it’s mostly a fancy storage box.

Overall, the whole set feels like a premium kit. You do get the impression you’re buying into a system, not just a shaver. Whether that’s good or just expensive depends on how often you shave and how much you care about always having a clean, charged razor. Personally, I like having the dock in the bathroom and just dropping it in every few days, but I’m also aware that the replacement cartridges and heads will keep costing money over time.

In terms of pure shaving performance, the Series 9 PRO+ does a very solid job. On one-day stubble, it gets me close enough that rubbing my face against the grain feels smooth in most areas, with a tiny bit of roughness on the neck if I’m picky. Compared to a fresh manual razor, I’d say it’s maybe 85–90% as close, but for the time saved and reduced irritation, I’m fine with that trade-off. I usually do one slow pass with the grain and then a quick touch-up against the grain on the neck and jawline.

On two–three days of growth, it still handles things well. You feel the ProLift and middle cutters lifting and cutting the longer hairs, and you don’t get that “pulling” sensation you sometimes get with cheaper electrics. You do need to go a bit slower and be patient around whorls or areas where the hair grows in weird directions, but it still ends up clean. Beyond three days, it’s doable but not ideal – at that point I’d either trim first or accept that it will take longer and might leave the odd stubborn hair.

The integrated precision trimmer on the back is okay for sideburns and edging a short beard, but it’s not as sharp or efficient as a dedicated trimmer. It’s fine for quick maintenance, not great for shaping a full beard from scratch. The big foil head sometimes gets in the way of seeing exactly what you’re trimming, so I mostly use it just to straighten lines and catch stray hairs.

One thing I noticed: the shaver seems to adapt power a bit when it hits thicker patches; you hear the motor slightly change tone. It doesn’t feel dramatic, but you can tell it’s not just running at one fixed speed. End result: I rarely have to go over the same area more than two–three times, which keeps irritation in check. Overall, for day-to-day shaving, the effectiveness is high enough that I stopped using a manual razor except before special events or when I want that last bit of smoothness.