Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9665CCE Review: a premium shaver that’s great, but not magic

I’ve been using the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9665CCE for a few weeks now, after years of bouncing between cheaper Braun and Philips shavers and the occasional wet shave with a cartridge razor. I bought it because my skin was getting irritated with blades and I was tired of patchy results from mid-range electrics. The price is high enough to make you wince, so I went in with pretty high expectations.

In daily use, it’s clearly a high-end bit of kit. The head is wide, it covers a lot of face in one pass, and it feels powerful. I mainly used it on 1–2 days of growth, with the odd 3-day beard to see how it copes. I tried both dry shaving in the morning rush and wet shaving with foam on weekends when I had more time.

Overall, it gives a close and comfortable shave, definitely better than the cheaper foil shavers I’ve owned. But it’s still not quite as close as a fresh razor blade on the neck and jawline. You have to do a few extra passes in tricky spots like under the jaw and around the Adam’s apple. It’s good, but not some miracle device that leaves you baby-smooth in 30 seconds.

If you’re thinking about dropping this kind of money, I’d say it’s a strong option if you shave often and your skin hates traditional razors. If you’re expecting a perfect blade-level shave in half the time, you might feel a bit underwhelmed for the price. It’s a quality shaver, but you pay a lot for that last 10–15% of comfort and convenience.

This is where things get a bit tricky. The Series 9 PRO+ 9665CCE is clearly on the expensive side. When you’re close to the £400–£500 range (depending on deals and bundles), you start expecting something close to perfect. In my experience, it delivers very good comfort and solid closeness, but it doesn’t magically beat a fresh manual razor in every situation. So you’re mainly paying for convenience, comfort, and build quality, not some totally new level of shaving.

If you’re coming from a mid-range electric like a Series 5 or an older Philips rotary, you will probably notice the difference. It’s more comfortable, a bit faster, and does better with awkward hairs. If you shave almost every day and your skin is easily irritated, that can justify the price over a few years. The 5-year warranty also helps spread the cost mentally — you’re basically buying a daily-use tool for a long stretch of time.

But there are clear downsides on the value side. Replacement heads are pricey, the cleaning cartridges add up if you rely heavily on the SmartCare station, and the PowerCase, while nice, is not essential for everyone. You’re not just buying a shaver; you’re signing up for a small ongoing cost. Also, if you’re the type who is happy with a simple cartridge razor and some foam, you might struggle to see why this costs so much for a shave that is only a bit less close but more comfortable.

So in terms of value, I’d say: good, but only for a specific user. If you shave daily, hate irritation, and want a reliable high-end electric that feels nice to use, the price can be justified. If you shave twice a week, don’t have sensitive skin, or don’t care about fancy stands and cases, you can get 70–80% of the performance for a lot less money with a lower-end Braun or another brand.

The design of the Series 9 PRO+ 9665CCE is clearly aimed at the higher end. The Graphite/grey finish looks modern and the build feels solid in the hand. The shaver has a large head with 5 cutting elements plus a SkinGuard, and the head flexes in multiple directions. In theory, this helps it stay in contact with the skin around curves like the jawline and chin. In practice, it does follow the contours pretty well, but you still need to angle it correctly, especially on the neck.

The front has a clear LED display showing battery percentage and basic status icons. That’s actually useful: instead of vague bars, you see if you’re at 20% or 60%, which helps if you travel or forget to charge. There’s also a lock button to stop the head from pivoting, which I found handy for the upper lip where too much movement makes it hard to be precise.

What I liked about the design is the overall ergonomics. The handle is slightly curved and has rubberised grip areas, so it doesn’t feel like it will slip even with wet hands. The weight is on the heavier side compared to cheaper shavers, but it’s well balanced, so you don’t feel like your wrist is working overtime. The trimmer is integrated in the head design rather than a separate flip-out blade, and it’s decent for tidying sideburns and edges, but I wouldn’t use it for styling a beard from scratch.

On the downside, the head is quite bulky. If you’re trying to get right under the nose or very close around a moustache line, you have to do a bit of maneuvering. It’s doable, but not as straightforward as with a smaller foil shaver or a manual razor. Also, lots of plastic and moving parts means you do get the sense that if you drop it hard, something might crack. Overall, the design is practical and premium enough, but not flawless.

Battery life on the Series 9 PRO+ is one of its strong points. Braun claims up to 60 minutes of shaving on a full charge, and in real life that’s roughly what I saw. My typical shave is about 5–7 minutes. I got around 10–12 shaves before the battery dropped under 20%. That’s about two weeks of daily use without touching the charger, which is more than enough for normal routines.

Charging is straightforward: about an hour to go from nearly empty to full. There’s also a quick-charge option — a few minutes to get enough juice for one shave — which actually saved me once when I’d completely forgotten to charge it. The LED display showing exact percentage is genuinely useful, especially if you travel and don’t want to pack the charger every time.

The PowerCase is the extra twist. It’s basically a travel case with a built-in battery that can recharge the shaver several times. On a 10-day trip, I didn’t bring the charging stand at all, just the PowerCase, and I never ran out of battery. So if you travel a lot for work or go on holidays without reliable sockets, this is very handy. It turns the already decent battery life into something you almost stop thinking about.

On the flip side, if you mostly shave at home, the PowerCase is a bit of a luxury add-on. It’s bulkier than a normal case and adds to the overall price. You’re basically paying extra for convenience you might only use a few times a year. Still, the base battery performance is solid, and combined with the case it’s one of those areas where you can say, “okay, this part is actually well done and reliable.”

For me, comfort is the main reason to pay for a shaver like this, and that’s where the Series 9 PRO+ did well. I’ve got fairly sensitive skin on the neck and jawline. With blades I’d often get redness and the odd small cut, especially if I shaved two days in a row. With this Braun, I’ve been able to shave daily without my skin feeling raw afterwards. I still get a bit of redness if I rush, but no cuts so far.

Dry shaving is where I used it most, usually in the morning before work. On 1–2 days of growth, it glides quite easily, especially if you stretch the skin slightly with the other hand. I’d describe the feeling as more of a gentle buzz than a scrape. On 3 days of growth, you do feel a bit more tugging, particularly on thicker areas like the chin, but nothing painful. It’s still more comfortable than dragging a blade over that much stubble.

I also tried it with shaving foam in the shower and at the sink. Wet shaving with this model is a bit slower because the head doesn’t slide as fast on wet skin, but the comfort level is high. My neck especially felt less irritated after a wet shave with the Braun compared to a dry shave, but the difference wasn’t huge. If you’re short on time, dry is perfectly fine, and that’s how I’d use it 90% of the time.

One thing to keep in mind: to get a close shave, you still need to go over some areas multiple times and sometimes change direction (against the grain, across, etc.). If you press too hard trying to get that last tiny bit of stubble, you can still get mild irritation. So it’s not magic, but compared to cheaper electrics, the comfort level is clearly better. I’d say this shaver is a strong option if your skin is easily annoyed by blades or rough rotary shavers.

The shaver is made in Germany and feels well put together. Nothing rattles, the head mechanism feels smooth, and the buttons have a solid click. Over a few weeks, I didn’t notice any wear or strange noises, even after running it through the SmartCare cleaning cycles regularly. It’s also 100% waterproof, and I used it in the shower a few times without any issues. No fogging, no weird behaviour from the power button, so that part seems trustworthy.

However, with electric shavers, durability isn’t just about the body not breaking. It’s also about how long the foil and cutter stay sharp and how often you need to replace them. Braun usually recommends replacing the head every 18 months, but that depends on how often and how hard you use it. Given the price of Series 9 replacement heads, this adds a noticeable ongoing cost. If you skip replacements, performance and comfort will drop, so it’s not really optional.

The SmartCare cleaning station helps keep the head feeling fresh. It cleans and lubricates the blades, which should, in theory, extend their life. The downside is that the cleaning cartridges are consumables, so you’re buying those every few months if you use the station a lot. You can rinse the shaver under the tap instead to save money, but you lose some of the convenience and maybe a bit of that “like new” feel.

Overall, I’d say the body and mechanics feel like they’ll last several years if you don’t drop it on tiles. The 5-year warranty is reassuring and suggests Braun is fairly confident in the product. Just keep in mind: the real long-term cost is blades and cleaning fluid. The shaver itself is a big upfront investment, and it doesn’t become cheap over time because you still have to feed it parts and cartridges.

Out of the box, the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9665CCE looks and feels like a top-tier product. In my package I had: the shaver itself, a hard travel case, the charging stand, a PowerCase (portable charging case), a basic charger, and a small cleaning brush. Some bundles come with the 6-in-1 SmartCare Center; mine did, and honestly, that part matters more than I thought it would.

The shaver comes basically ready to use: you just plug it in for a full charge (about an hour) and you’re good for roughly 60 minutes of shaving time. In practice, for me that meant around two weeks of daily shaves before I even thought about the battery. The PowerCase is basically a portable battery bank for the shaver, so if you travel a lot, you can go for several weeks without ever seeing a wall socket. I did a 10-day trip with only the PowerCase and never ran out.

What I liked is that everything feels thought through: the travel case is rigid and actually protective, not some floppy pouch; the charging stand is stable and doesn’t feel cheap; and the SmartCare cleaning station is simple to use — you just drop the shaver in and hit a button. It cleans, lubricates, and charges in one go. It’s the kind of accessory that sounds like a gimmick, but I ended up using it almost every other day because it keeps the head feeling smooth and less tuggy.

On the downside, the whole bundle takes up a fair bit of space on a bathroom shelf. You’ve got the shaver, the stand, the cleaning station, plus the PowerCase. If you’ve got a tiny bathroom, it’s a bit of a clutter. Also, replacement cleaning cartridges and future foil/ cutter replacements add to the long-term cost. So presentation is very polished, but it also screams “ongoing spend”, not just a one-off purchase.

Let’s talk about how well it actually shaves, because that’s the whole point. On 1–2 days of growth, the Series 9 PRO+ gives a pretty close shave for an electric. On my cheeks, it gets very near to what I’d get with a good cartridge razor. On the neck and around the jawline, it’s a bit behind: you can still feel very fine stubble if you rub against the grain, even if you can’t really see it in the mirror.

The head has multiple elements (direct & cut, ProLift, foils, etc.) and they do help catch hairs growing in different directions. I’ve got some flat-lying hairs on the neck that cheaper shavers just glide over. With this one, if I go slowly and change direction a couple of times, it picks them up reasonably well. You do need to be patient though — if you’re expecting a single pass to clear everything, you’ll be disappointed. It’s more like 3–5 passes on tricky areas.

On 3–4 days of growth, it still works, but it’s not as quick. You’ll feel it working a bit harder, and you have to guide it more carefully. I never had it completely choke or jam, but I’d say this shaver is best if you shave at least every other day. If you’re the type who shaves once a week, you might be better off trimming down first and then using it, otherwise the session gets longer and less comfortable.

Compared to the Amazon reviews, I can see where both camps are coming from. If you’re used to mid-range electrics, this will feel like an upgrade in closeness and comfort. If you’re comparing it to a fresh manual razor and expecting the same result in half the time, you might feel like that one-star reviewer who said it never gave a truly clean shave. It’s good, it gets the job done well for most daily use, but it’s still an electric foil shaver with the usual limits.