Braun Series 7 760cc : expensive but good quality

Author's Rating:

Pros: Close and fast cut, no irritation, rechargeable battery

Cons: Quite expensive

The Bottom Line: 
Definitely recommended, for a close cut with no irritation.

Author's Review
Buying it:
I bought my Braun Series 7-760cc shaver (type 5693) 2 months ago from Personal Edge at Eaton Center in Toronto. It was on sale just before Christmas, so I paid $240 (CAD) and also I traded-in my old Philips HQ6844 for $20.
I have to mention that I got the whole 760 cc package which includes the shaver, the cleaning unit (named Clean&Renew station) and a cleaning cartridge.
The salesman there told me it is possible to buy the shaver without the cleaning unit, as you can clean it and maintain it without that unit (see more details about cleaning, further below).

Reason:
My decision to buy this shaver was an almost desperate attempt to solve the chronic irritation that I got from shaving with manual razors. Over the years I tried a few good brands of manual razors and shaving/after-shave creams and solutions, with no success over the ongoing irritation. Because of that, with manual razors I could not shave more often than once in 4 days; and if I needed to shave after 3 days since last shave, then the result was a disaster on my face: cuts and irritation all over the shaved area.

Results:
In short, the irritation problem is gone. Now I can shave every other day (once in 2 days) without getting irritated. I don't need to shave every day because the day after a shave, the hair is still too short. I also have to mention that I shave before shower.
The shave is very close to the skin, almost as close as the one that manual razors give.
Some tips on how to get a good shave:
- follow carefully ALL the instructions in the manual
- always wash your *hands* with soap thoroughly before shaving or before touching the skin of your face
- shave when the hair is about 2 mm (millimeters) long, because at that length it's easy for the shaver to catch and cut it. If it's much longer, like 4-5 mm, you'll have to go over the same skin area more times, and also afterwards the shaver will require more cleaning.
- don't go too fast over the skin; I'd say about 1 cm (centimeter) per second is what I do, to give the shaver time to cut more hair in one pass.
- go against the direction of growth of hair. That way the shaver catches the hair better.
- if there is a hair remaining that is too close to the skin and the shaver didn't catch it after 2-3 passes, don't go over it many times. Gently try and lift that hair with the fingers, and then leave it and pass the shaver against it.
- clean the shaver after every use.
- to avoid any source of irritation, change the face towels and pillow covers with clean ones as often as possible (I do it about 3 times a week).

Cleaning:
The best way to clean the shaver is by using the cleaning unit, because the cleaning liquid contains a special mix of alcohol and lubricant. However, the manual says that a cleaning cartridge can be used about 30 times. At a price of about $10 (CAD) per cleaning cartridge, that maybe a bit expensive: if used daily, a cartridge lasts a month. But there is a way to extend that life-time of the cleaning cartridge:
You can see in the manual that the shaver can be manually cleaned, rinsing the shaver head under hot running water. (Read the manual for important instructions on this!).

So, to extend the life of the cleaning cartridge, I am using alternatively both the automatic and the manual cleaning:
After the first shave, I clean the shaver manually under hot running water. After the second shave, I clean the shaver manually again and right after the shaver is dried I clean it automatically (in the cleaning unit).
This way, after 2 months of shaving every other day, my initial cleaning cartridge is now half empty. Which means I can continue to use it for about another 2 months.

Other notes:
The build of this shaver is robust overall, and I noticed that the base of the head is made of plastic. However, the part that touches your skin mostly is the cutter cassette, and that is made of metal.
About the noise, I can say it makes a buzz, like any electric shaver, but it's not very loud.
When the shaver is in the cleaning unit and the cleaning starts, the noise comes from the shaver, not from the unit. Basically the shaver is turned on intermittently by the cleaning unit. That lasts a few minutes, but definitely not the whole cleaning cycle (30-40 minutes).
The cutter cassette is supposed to work well for 18 months. A new one seems a bit expensive ~ $65 (CAD), so per year it would be like $44. If I add 3 cleaning cartridges in my case, the total cost per year for shaving would be ~ $75 + tax. I think it's a reasonable cost, and comparable to the cost of the cartridges of the top manual razors.