Review Summary Editor's choice
Pros: top notch performance, very comfortable and close shaves, great performance on longer facial hair, brushed aluminum body, premium build quality, feature packed, very useful display, wet & dry use, click on trimmer attachment, premium travel case
Cons: expensive, no cleaning station, no cleaning brush or protective cap, QI models can only be charged wireless, underwhelming performance of the trimmer, a thorough cleaning is fiddly and time-consuming
The Series 9000 Prestige represents Philips Norelco’s latest addition to their high-end range of electric shavers.
Launched in August 2018 at the IFA, the Prestige models complement the existing Series 9000 shavers like the 9300 and 9700.
However, with a new design and new shaving heads, the S9000 Prestige is an entirely new shaver and not just a cosmetic makeover of the existing Series 9000 razors.
Philips is so confident about the performance of their new flagship shaver that they call it their best shaver to date and also make some very bold claims, like its ability to shave a 7-day beard.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the Prestige models, but a lot of confusion and questions as well.
In this review of the Philips Series 9000 Prestige, we’ll put the shaver through its paces and test it in a variety of scenarios to find out just how good it really is.
We’ll also compare it to the regular Series 9000 models and see how it stacks up against some of the razors from the competition.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Features overview
The new Philips Series 9000 Prestige shavers come in several variations, some of the model names being region-specific.
The shavers themselves are identical and the only differences between the models are related to the included accessories and how you charge the shavers.
Here’s a quick summary of that:
| Model | Accesories | Price |
|---|---|---|
| SP9820/87 | Travel case, SmartClick Precision trimmer | Amazon |
| SP9820/88 | Travel case, SmartClick Precision trimmer, cleansing brush | |
| SP9860/86 | Travel case, SmartClick Precision trimmer, QI charging pad | |
| SP9861/13 | Travel case, SmartClick Beard styler, QI charging pad | Amazon |
| SP9860/13 | Travel case, SmartClick Precision trimmer, QI charging pad | |
| SP9863/14, SP9862/14, SP9860/14 | Travel case, SmartClick Beard styler, cleansing brush, QI charging pad | Amazon |
At the moment of writing, the SP9860/13, SP9863/14 and SP9862/14 models aren’t officially available in the USA.
However, you can still get the wireless SP9861 and SP9836 on sites like Amazon.
My review unit is the SP9820/87 variation and I guess you could call it the base model since it comes with the fewest extras.
I’ll simply refer to it as SP9820 throughout this post for the sake of brevity. After all, the only difference between the SP9820/87 and SP9820/88 is the inclusion of the cleansing brush in the case of the latter.
In terms of shaving performance, all the shavers are absolutely identical.
The S9000 Prestige models that come with the wireless charging technology (SP9860, SP9863, SP9862) have a cover over the charging port at the bottom and in theory, they can only be charged via the pad.
And since those models cost more and charging takes three times longer (approximately three hours), I would actually suggest you avoid them and go for one of the other two instead.
UPDATE: the plastic cover can actually be removed and you can use a basic Philips charger to charge them as well (thanks to Terje for the heads-up). Here’s a YouTube video on how to do that.
You may also have noticed that among the accessories there are two types of trimmer attachments:
- A SmartClick precision trimmer
- A SmartClick beard styler
The first one is a simple trimmer that you can use for basic grooming, while the latter comes with an adjustable comb, allowing you to choose between 5 length settings.
Again, the actual shavers are identical in terms of performance, so the differences only come down to charging (wired vs wireless) and included accessories.
Let’s now take a very brief look at the highlights of the Series 9000 Prestige shavers.
I will skip the marketing fluff and only list the really important features.
New metal body
While the previous Series 9000 models had really good build quality, the S9000 Prestige comes in a brushed aluminum finish that looks and feels exquisite (more details later on).
New shaving heads
The Series 9000 Prestige doesn’t use the SH90 shaving heads of the 9300/9700 or 8900 models. Instead, it comes with brand new cutters called SH98.
In my opinion this is the change that had the biggest impact on the performance of this shaver. I will go into more detail in the performance section of the review.
It’s also worth noting that the rings surrounding the three cutters now have an anti-friction coating that should help the head glide easily over the skin.
Three personalization settings
Just like the current Series 9000 shavers, the Prestige models allow you to choose between three different shaving modes.
This basically alters the power output of the motor depending on your needs. For example, you could be shaving a portion with very coarse hair or a sensitive area like your neck.
In my experience, this implementation doesn’t really work as it should, but again we’ll test it later on in the review.
Misc features
Other noteworthy features include:
- Travel lock
- SmartClick precision trimmer
- Facial Cleansing brush (only the SP9820/88 and SP9863/14 models)
- Premium travel case
- 5-minute quick charge function
- LED display
Included accessories
My Philips S9000 Prestige SP9820 came in a nice looking retail package and the whole unboxing experience really made me feel like I’m getting a premium product; so definitely a big step-up from other Philips models in this regard.
Apart from the shaver itself, you’ll be getting the following items:
- Premium travel case
- SmartClick Precision trimmer
- Charging cord
- User Guide Booklet, leaflets and extended warranty card
If you think this is pretty disappointing considering the premium price tag of the shaver, you’d be right. The included accessories are a real letdown.
First of all, there’s no cleaning station. You won’t be getting one with any of the S9000 Prestige models, so that’s a real bummer. After all, this is Philips Norelco’s top of the line shaver and it costs a pretty penny as well.
Still related to cleaning, there’s not even a cleaning brush included. Not a huge deal, but still it would have been nice to get one. Also, there’s no plastic cap and no lubricant either.
On the bright side, the travel case is awesome. It has a very premium look and feel, it’s very sturdy and just oozes quality.
My favorite part about the case is that it can accommodate the shaver along with the beard trimmer and the charging cord, so we can overlook the rather large size.
All of them fit very neatly inside:
Regarding the 1-year extended warranty, I tried registering my product using the link on the card, but that proved to be futile as the only S9000 Prestige I could select on Philips’ website was the SP9863.
So if you bought the SP9820 as I did and you live in a country where that model isn’t officially available, well, you’re out of luck.
I hope this is just temporary and they will eventually add the rest of the models as well. I will try again later on and update the post if anything changes. However, this offer is only available as long as you register your shaver within 90 days from the time of the purchase.
Lastly, the user guide included with this shaver has to be the worst I’ve ever come across. There are no words, just pictures. And some of them aren’t particularly helpful.
Fortunately, the user manual you can find online on Philips’ website is a lot better, so I highly recommend downloading that one instead.
Build quality and ergonomics
If you thought the Series 9000 Prestige looked good in press images, I’m glad to say that it looks at least as good in reality.
Starting with the unboxing experience, it definitely feels like an upmarket product.
The highlight of the shaver is of course the new metal body.
Precisely, the front part of the shaver (that extends to the sides as well) features a brushed aluminum finish.
The area on the top, right below the shaving head has some really nice executed knurling that adds some visual interest and I think it looks great.
The ON/OFF switch is also made out of metal and has this texture that makes it more grippy and easier to press.
The rest of the glossy silver parts are made out of plastic, like the area surrounding the power button or the charging port.
The front part of the shaver is where all the action happens.
There’s a very prominent power button that also doubles as a travel lock switch.
In order to activate it, you must press and hold it for 3 seconds. The display will even show a 3-second countdown, so that’s a really nice touch.
Once the travel lock is on, a small padlock will be displayed on the screen whenever you try to turn the razor on.
To deactivate it you must obviously press and hold for 3 seconds, with the same countdown timer being displayed on the screen.
Right below the power button there’s the +/- rocker that allows you to choose between three power settings.
Unlike the ON/OFF button, this one is made out of plastic.
The selected power mode will be shown on the display right above the battery charge percentage.
The display occupies quite a bit of real estate on the front part of the S9000 Prestige, but it is nicely integrated from an aesthetic perspective.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the display has this lift to wake feature, something similar to what some smartphones have.
You can check it out in this animation I made:
Yes, it’s maybe a bit gimmicky, but it’s also nice to know your shaver’s battery charge without turning it on.
It’s a small touch that has quite a bit of impact and it’s genuinely useful.
This feature was however a bit inconsistent on my shaver as it wouldn’t always activate the display, but most of the time it worked just fine.
The back and the lateral sides are covered in this matte rubber-like material that provides a very secure grip.
The shaver is very lightweight and despite having a substantial size, it fits really comfortable in the hand and the sculpted back allows you to wrap your hand securely around it.
On the bottom we have the usual Philips charging port. As mentioned previously, the models that come with the inductive charging technology have a plastic flap that covers the port, but it can be removed.
Overall, the build quality of the Philips S9000 Prestige is top-notch. Now it’s time for some nitpicking.
The plastic shaving unit feels a bit flimsy in comparison to the rest of the body. It’s not by any means worse than the ones on other high-end Philips models, but I was expecting a bit more.
For example, with the Prestige series, they could have made the frame that holds the three shaving heads out of metal. Or maybe just the bottom half of the shaving head.
I wouldn’t even mention this in the case of less expensive Philips razors, but with this Prestige range, I don’t think it’s asking too much.
Another minor complaint is related to the SmartClick trimmer. It is still not integrated into the shaver itself and you must first remove the shaving head, then snap it in its place.
It is a bit of a hassle and you can of course misplace it or leave it in some hotel bathroom.
Also, there’s a notch on the trimmer that must be aligned with a cutout in the shaver, so you can only insert it in one way.
Same goes for the shaving unit, so definitely keep that in mind as you may damage the parts if you try to force them the wrong way.
Finally, the trimmer looks and feels a bit cheap. I know I’m being petty, but there’s really not much to fault the Series 9000 Prestige with regard to build quality.
Battery life and charging
All the Philips S9000 Prestige shavers are suitable for wet & dry use and as a result, they can only work cordless.
If you try to turn on the SP9820 while it’s charging, you’ll hear a short beep and the shaver will prompt you to disconnect the cord by flashing a symbol on the display.
Philips states that the rechargeable Li-ion battery can hold enough charge for approximately one hour worth of shaving time.
In real-life usage, this number tends to be a bit less. During my tests, I got approximately 50 minutes from a fully charged battery, which is actually perfectly in line with the rest of high-end razors from the competition.
A typical shaving session will eat around 12% battery charge, at least in my case. This will of course vary depending on how coarse your beard is and how long it takes you to complete a shave.
The battery charge status is probably the most useful I’ve seen on any electric razor. It shows the remaining battery in increments of 1%, which is way better compared to the 3 or 5 bar indicators found on other shavers.
When the battery is almost empty, the indicator will turn orange and the shaver will beep when you turn it on.
My review unit, the SP9820, came with a common charging cord and it takes approximately one hour to charge it from 0 to 100%.
The models that come with the QI charging pad require a whopping 3-hour charging time and, again, they can only be charged wireless as they lack a physical charging port.
This is highly inconvenient in my opinion. Yes, wireless charging can be useful, but only as a complementary method of charging a device.
Imagine a smartphone that could only be charged wireless, I don’t think anyone would want that and for obvious reasons.
You’re also giving up the 5-minute quick charge feature that requires the cord. This will allow you to complete one shave when you’re in a hurry and your S9000 is out of juice.
Factor in the higher price as well and I think we can conclude that SP9820 is probably the best pick of the Prestige series.
Philips S9000 Prestige review: Shaving performance
The user reviews for the Prestige line on various websites have been overwhelmingly positive, which is a bit unusual for Philips’ top of the line shavers as they tend to generate very polarizing opinions.
I was of course very eager to test one myself and see if it really is that good.
So I bought the SP9820 and used it exclusively for three weeks, making sure to cover all the possible scenarios.
The SP9820 model will likely be the most popular variation of the S9000 Prestige range due to its availability and lower price.
Since the rest of the shavers are identical with regards to performance, this review will be relevant for those as well.
There are a lot of important aspects to be covered here, so I’ll try to address everything, including comparisons with other models and hopefully help you decide if this shaver is right for you.
Spoiler: the Philips S9000 Prestige is a fantastic performer and I can say without hesitation that it is the best rotary razor I have ever used.
Philips Series 9000 Prestige
Without further ado, here’s my Philips 9000 Prestige review of the shaver’s performance. I structured all my findings into 6 relevant categories.
Closeness of the shave
How close an electric razor can shave is probably what interests the potential buyer the most.
I have to admit that it’s one of the reasons why I always favored foil shavers over rotary. I just never managed to get satisfactory shaves despite my efforts, even with the Series 9000 shavers like the 9300.
The new Philips Series 9000 Prestige is a big improvement in this regard. Using it dry for the first time was a pleasant surprise and the following shaves got even better.
The closeness of the shave is subjective and also depends on your expectations and on previous experience with other shavers.
For example, I would still get a slightly closer shave with a high-quality foil shaver like the Panasonic Arc 5 or a Braun Series 7.
But again, the difference would be marginal and the SP9820 is clearly better than any other rotary shavers you can currently buy.
If you’ve used rotary shavers before and you weren’t particularly happy with the results, I am pretty confident that this razor will not disappoint.
It’s particularly good on the cheeks and on the neck as well, which is almost never the case for me when using rotary razors.
On the chin and above the upper lip I could still feel a bit of stubble after a dry shave, but that’s again something that would happen with most other shavers as I have very thick hair on those areas.
Overall, I’d say that the closeness of the shave is very good and will easily satisfy most users.
Comfort
For me the most surprising thing about the SP9820 has to be the comfort of the shave.
The improvement over the previous S9000 models is massive. It is the most comfortable and enjoyable rotary shaver I have used so far.
I have very sensitive skin on the neck and shaving dry with any rotary razor would always result in irritation and rashes.
But that wasn’t the case with this one except for some minor stinging immediately after the shave.
When used together with a pre-shave lotion (Freelette or Speick are my personal favorites), the experience was actually great.
For me, the main problem with other rotary shavers was the constant stinging and pinching I would get during the shave. I blame this on Philips’ double blade design that would pull and then cut the hairs.
It wasn’t particularly efficient for closeness and definitely affected the comfort of the shave.
That was the case with shavers like the 9300, 9700 or 8900 (and of course other entry-level models).
With the Prestige line, Philips introduced new shaving heads that don’t feature the double-blade design anymore.
Here’s a closeup shot of the circular blades on the SP9820:
There are two concentric rows of blades (corresponding to the slots and the tracks on the combs), but this time around there’s no double edge per blade.
The improvement in comfort is obvious. Compared side by side with the Philips 8900 for example, the S9000 Prestige is a lot better. There’s just no comparison between the two.
And because the comfort was vastly improved, this can indirectly affect the closeness as well. For example, I am able to be more thorough and even press just a bit harder and get a really smooth shave.
Doing anything like that was out of the question with any other rotary shaver.
I can even recommend the SP9820 to men with sensitive skin, especially when used with a pre-shave or a quality shaving cream.
I would personally still choose a Braun Series 7 or 9 as those are the most comfortable electric shavers out there, but again, the Prestige line is now miles ahead of any other rotary shavers when it comes to comfort.
Shaving longer hairs
Philips touted on numerous occasions that the Series 9000 Prestige models can shave a 7-day beard, which is a very bold claim.
I initially didn’t think this would be possible without significant compromises to one’s overall shaving experience.
Most electric shavers work best on short facial hair. Trying to shave a long beard will almost always cause the razor to pull and yank the hairs and to miss a lot of them, resulting in a very poor and lengthy shave.
Yes, rotary shavers are generally better than foil-based machines at shaving long whiskers, but 7 days would really be pushing it.
Well, I’m glad to say that it’s definitely doable with the Philips Prestige models.
I was able to shave a 5-day beard with my SP9820 without much trouble. I only experienced a couple of hairs being yanked, but that was mostly my fault as my strokes were a bit too fast.
My beard grows back pretty fast and if I could get a very good shave after 5 days, I can definitely see someone pulling it off on a 7-day beard.
The Philips S9000 Prestige is therefore very impressive at shaving long, flat-lying hairs. It will also work great for African American men that have very wiry hairs.
The combs of the SH98 shaving heads feature very wide tracks and this makes them very efficient at capturing long hairs.
For someone that shaves irregularly, this electric razor would be a fantastic choice.
Philips Series 9000 Prestige
The flexing of the three independent heads helps maintain contact with the skin and the shaver is very effective at capturing the hairs, even those that grow in different directions.
The head glides smoothly on the skin as long as it’s perfectly dry.
As soon as there’s any moisture or sweat present, it will start to hop and stick to the skin, despite the manufacturer’s claim of using some fancy metallic pigments on the rings surrounding the metal guards.
In my case a pre-shave lotion reduced this problem to a minimum, so if you live in a humid or hot area or your skin tends to be greasier, I highly recommend using one.
Speed settings
The trend with the latest electric shavers, especially the high-end models, is to include some technology that adjusts the speed of the motor, be it automatically (for example, the latest Panasonic Arc 3 and Arc 5) or manually (Braun Series 7).
The idea behind this is to make the razor more comfortable when shaving sensitive areas and also to deliver full power when needed.
Conceptually, this sounds really good. But in reality, we are yet to see this work as it should.
And it’s the case with the Series 9000 Prestige as well.
There are three speed settings: low, medium and high. Using the low and medium modes will just make the S9000 feel a bit slower, without actually improving the comfort in any significant way.
Therefore I only shaved in high power mode and the results of this review were obtained using the shaver with the high power setting selected.
When cycling through the three modes you will clearly notice a change in the tonality of the shaver.
The high power mode produces a higher-pitched whine, while the other two cause the razor to produce a lower frequency noise. The intensity of the sound remains pretty much the same for all three modes.
Speaking of which, compared to other rotary shavers, the Philips S9000 Prestige is a bit louder.
The sound is more whiny and metallic, but it’s still nowhere near as loud as a foil shaver. In my opinion it remains adequately quiet even during use.
In conclusion, the speed settings are more of a gimmick, but that’s hardly a surprise.
Wet shaving performance
The Series 9000 Prestige from Philips has an IPX7 rating, meaning the razors can be submerged in water up to 1m deep.
This makes them suitable for shaving in the shower or optionally with shaving cream or gel.
I never really fancied shaving in the shower, so I only tried my SP9820 with shaving cream.
And it works really well overall, as long as the lather is properly hydrated. As soon as it starts to dry, the shaver will just get stuck. So make sure to keep it slick and watery.
I simply wet my free hand and just run it over the area that I’m currently shaving.
Using this shaver with cream will likely be better than a dry shave — at least for me it was, but the results were very similar to a dry shave with a pre-shave lotion. And this latter method was actually my favorite way of using the S9000 Prestige.
One thing worth mentioning is the so-called BeardAdapt sensor that according to Philips checks the hair density 15 times per second and adapts the shaver to your hair.
I actually haven’t noticed it at work until I shaved with cream and the razor would change its speed on the fly. This feature is different from the 3 modes that you can set yourself the way you want.
I never noticed it during a dry shave, so my guess is that the cream/lather confuses the sensor and doesn’t really know what to do. I’ve seen the exact same behavior with Panasonic shavers, also during a wet shave.
This didn’t affect the performance, but I thought it was worth mentioning. To me it’s just another gimmicky feature that never seems to work as it should.
SmartClick trimmer
The attachment included with the SP9820 model from the Series 9000 Prestige is the basic precision trimmer and not the beard styler that comes with the more expensive models.
In order to use it, you must first remove the shaving unit and insert the trimmer in its place.
I very much prefer the integrated trimmers, but Philips only uses them on their lower-end models.
As for the performance of the SmartClick Precision trimmer, well, it’s pretty average at best. It’s very thick, which makes it uncomfortable to use, but most importantly, it just doesn’t seem to cut the hairs efficiently.
I had to do lots of passes just to straighten and adjust my sideburns and I still had to finish up with a different trimmer.
If you really try hard enough and hold the trimmer at a sharp angle relative to your skin you will eventually manage to get a somewhat decent result.
But overall, this particular trimmer is mediocre at best. It’s nowhere near Panasonic pop-up trimmers which are in my opinion the best.
The beard styler that comes with the other Philips Prestige models is more useful and also includes an adjustable comb. My Philips 8900 came with such a trimmer and that one was pretty good.
Cleaning and maintenance
I’ll be perfectly honest and tell you that the lack of a cleaning station was the biggest bummer for me with the Series 9000 Prestige.
I know that in certain situations — for example, Panasonic shavers are dead easy to clean — a station is not really necessary.
However, I would very much rather have one with a Philips Norelco shaver.
And I could have overlooked the omission of the cleaning base if it wasn’t for the hefty price tag of the S9000 Prestige.
But it is what it is. No cleaning station means that you’ll have to resort to manually cleaning your Prestige shaver after every use.
There are two ways you can go about this.
First, there’s the regular cleaning operation that only involves rinsing the shaving head under tap water without taking it apart completely.
Once you’ve finished shaving, rinse the head of the razor under warm tap water.
Remove the frame that holds the three cutters and rinse the inner part of it. Do the same with the hair chamber (the bottom part of the shaving unit).
Shake off any excess water and let the parts air dry completely before putting the head back together. You may also very gently pat them dry with a paper towel.
That’s pretty much it and in the case of using the shaver dry, you can get away with this quick cleaning routine for up to a month before the need of a thorough cleaning.
Also, the shaver will remind you to clean it after every use by flashing a faucet symbol on the display.
If you also use shaving cream or gel, I would strongly suggest using a bit of liquid soap: apply some water on the shaving head, then pour a few drops of liquid soap over the three cutters and let the shaver run for 10 to 15 seconds.
Rinse it thoroughly under tap water, then remove the front part of the shaving assembly and rinse the inside as well.
This is necessary because hardened shaving cream and lather can accumulate inside the shaving unit and it’s a real pain to remove later on.
An alternative to liquid soap would be to use a cleaning and lubricating spray like the Remington Shaver Saver or any other brand that was specifically formulated for electric shavers.
This would sum up the quick cleaning of your Philips Series 9000 Prestige.
Every month or so, Philips recommends performing a more thorough cleaning.
This operation implies taking apart each of the three cutting heads.
First, remove the top part of the shaving unit that houses the cutters.
Rotate the blue retaining rings counterclockwise to gain access to the cutting blades and combs. I highly suggest performing this action one cutter at a time.
This is very important as the blades and combs are matching pairs and mixing them will likely affect the performance of the razor.
After you’ve removed the circular blade and the metal comb, rinse them thoroughly under warm tap water.
You can also apply some lubricating spray after the parts have dried.
You can now place the guards and blades back into the socket and secure them by turning the retaining ring clockwise until it locks into place.
Repeat this process for the other two cutting heads.
As you can see, this operation is kinda fiddly and time-consuming and a cleaning station would have been a welcome addition. And you can’t really skip cleaning your electric razor because dirt, dead skin cells and fine hair clippings will remain trapped inside the cutters.
If you fail to perform this in-depth cleaning at least once a month, it will eventually affect the performance of the razor and it will be bad for hygiene as well.
Overall, cleaning the Philips Series 9000 Prestige is pretty much the same as cleaning any other Philips razor that doesn’t come with a station. The only difference is that in this case the price simply doesn’t justify leaving the station out.
Replacement parts availability
The Philips Series 9000 Prestige uses new shaving heads that were specifically designed for this series.
The new cutters have the part number SH98 and as it’s usually the case with newly released electric shavers, they are pretty difficult to find, at least at the moment of writing this review.
Philips Norelco Shaver 9000 Prestige SH98
They appear in the listings of several online stores, but seem to be out of stock.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it as this situation is pretty common and the replacement heads will eventually be available, probably sooner than later.
The price should be slightly higher than Philips Norelco’s other premium shaving heads, so not exactly cheap.
The good part is that they appear to last a lot longer than most other heads. Philips even recommends changing them every two years, which is twice the industry average.
There is some conflicting information about this though; according to the user’s manual, you should replace the cutters once a year, while the product page on Philips’ website states that they must be changed every two years.
I tend to think that the latter is the correct one, but I guess only time will tell.
This will of course depend on many factors like the frequency of use and the coarseness of your beard.
As mentioned in the performance section, I think these new cutters are largely responsible for the excellent shaving performance of the SP9820.
The reliability of the blades is a different story though and it’s too early to draw a conclusion. But the signs are nevertheless encouraging.
Wrapup — Who should buy the S9000 Prestige?
As far as rotary shavers go, the Philips Series 9000 Prestige is a beast and arguably the best you can buy right now.
Philips Series 9000 Prestige
And I’m referring strictly to shaving performance as value for money is a pretty different story as you probably guessed by now.
But getting back to the performance part, out of all the Philips razors I’ve used, this one exhibits the fewest rotary-specific problems.
The comfort is more than adequate and it shaved closer than I was expecting it to.
It’s very impressive at shaving longer beards and almost in a class of its own. The Braun Series 9 is the only foil razor that can try to match it in this regard.
And I think this is when you would benefit from this razor the most: if you tend to shave less often, like every 5 days, you will really appreciate it.
The Philips S9000 Prestige still wouldn’t be my first option for someone with very sensitive skin, but I think most users will be fine.
Also, if you want the closest possible shave, the Panasonic Arc 5 is still the one to have.
But keep in mind that the Panasonic is nowhere near as good at shaving longer, flat-lying hairs. So only consider it if you’ll be shaving often (every two days at most).
If you’ve used rotary shavers in the past, this one will likely be a worthy upgrade from your current shaver.
Philips Series 9000 (9300, 9700, 9800) vs Series 9000 Prestige
This is a very obvious comparison. The regular Series 9000 offers much better value for money; they’re cheaper and also come with a cleaning station.
So should you get those instead? Also, if you already own a Series 9000, should you upgrade to a Prestige model?
Well, the main difference between a Philips 9000 and the newer Prestige is in my opinion the comfort. The models in the Prestige line are a lot more comfortable and mainly due to the new blades.
The closeness is pretty similar, but again you could get a closer shave with the Prestige razors simply because they’re more comfortable (this was actually my experience).
If you already own a 9300 or a 9700 and you don’t have any major issues with skin irritation or discomfort during the shave, I think you shouldn’t upgrade.
If you’re looking to buy your first high-end rotary shaver, the S9000 Prestige is the best out there right now, but the price is also very high.
I would personally choose a Prestige model since I have sensitive skin and in my case it’s worth paying more (even though I won’t be getting a cleaning station). If that sounds like you, consider the Prestige line.
Otherwise, stick to the regular Series 9000.
Which brings us to the alternatives section.
Alternative shavers
Philips Norelco Series 9000 9300
As stated previously, the regular Series 9000 shavers are cheaper and offer better value for money.
The 9300 model is usually the best pick due to its lower price. You’re really not getting any significant benefits from the 9700, so only consider that one if you can get it for the same money.
If you don’t have sensitive skin, the 9300 or even the cheaper 8900 will probably be good enough.
UPDATE: the old Series 9000 is getting more difficult to find as of 2023 and the price has spiked as well.
Philips Norelco Series 9000 9500
This is the new Series 9000, a major update to the older generation (with models like the 9300 above, 9700 and so on).
Apart from a much sleeker design, the main novelty of the newer generation is actually a new shaving head with new cutters (called SH91).
Just like the SH98 on the Prestige, the SH91 (also compatible with the older Series 9000 generation) dropped the Lift&Cut blade in favor of a single-blade design.
As a result, the Norelco 9500 (and the new Series 9000) is a lot more comfortable compared to the older generation.
The S9000 Prestige still has the edge and I would still pick it over the Norelco 9500 (money aside). It’s just a bit more comfortable and maybe even slightly faster. The differences are however very small.
I also prefer the rounded heads of the Prestige since it makes the shaving head thinner and easier to use.
Nevertheless, the new Norelco 9500 is a vast improvement over the older Series 9000 in terms of comfort.
Factor in the lower price and it makes a lot of sense to get the new one over the older generation.
The Norelco 9500 also comes with a very basic cleaning unit called a Quick Clean Pod. It’s nowhere near as effective as a full-fledged station, but it’s an interesting concept nevertheless.
For more info, I wrote a comprehensive review of the new Philips Series 9000 9500 where I also compare it to the Prestige in greater detail.
Braun Series 9 9390cc
The Series 9 9390cc usually costs less, it’s more comfortable and in my opinion shaves a bit closer than the Series 9000 Prestige.
It’s also really good at shaving longer, flat hairs and comes with an excellent cleaning station.
If you’re not set on getting a rotary razor, I think the Series 9 will be a safer choice for most users.
Hi Ovidiu,
I was really looking forward to your review of this shaver. Spot on as usual. Really good review!!!
I have a version that comes with the Qi charger and I have to say you are not missing out on anything. It’s definitely a bit of a let down. Yes, indeed it does take 3hrs to charge it from flat, however I think the idea is to always keep the shaver on the charger after each shave to dry, which effectively tops up the charge too.
Qi charger is a gimmick in my opinion and arguably a poor reason by Philips to keep the price so high. In Australia, this shaver retails for $699!!!!
Worth mentioning is that Qi charger gets scrached easily and looks quite worn out after couple of months.
Also, the travel case is really nice, definitely high quality, however it is very bulky and not practical for frequent short term travels, i.e. business trips. I say this as you have to carry everything in the travel case since there is no separate case just for the shaver – only this bulky one that stores a Qi charger, click on accessories, and the shaver.
Shaving performance wise, this is a superb shaver. Definitely the best rotary shaver on the market. But, it is just not for my face… After using this shaver for 2.5months I’ve made a decision to claim my money back since it comes with the 90 day money back promotion. Ingrown hair, redness, and discomfort being the main reasons.
You can achieve super close shave with this shaver but it takes time to get there. I had to spend >10mins shaving to get nice clean shave. And then manual cleaning which takes a bit as well.
The lack of the cleaning station is a big letdown for me. You don’t immediately notice the lack of a cleaning station convenience until couple of months later you realise how tedious manual cleaning can be. Unlike Panasonic Arc5 which has manual cleaning mode that takes 20 seconds, Prestige shaver needs much longer.
I also found that dry shaving was not great, particularly as the face starts sweating and shaver starts bumping along the face. The metallic coating did not make much difference to me.
After these 2.5 months I pulled my Braun 9 from the closet and got amazed just how quick/efficient it is. It takes me <3mins to do a wet shave, rinse the shaver under the tap water and pop it on the cleaning station. Super clean and comfortable shave too.
Little hard case that comes with Braun 9 is also perfect for travelling – small and you can pop it in any bag.
I’m aware I sound quite negative, but this shaver is definitely not suitable for my sensitive skin.
For the rotary shaver lovers this is an amazing shaver. Super close shave, quiet operation, great build quality, lightweight, and ergonomic. Definitely go for the non Qi charger version.
Hi Miki,
Thank you for the detailed and excellent follow-up. I can totally relate to your experience since I’m a foil guy as well and I’d go as far as saying that for most users, a foil shaver will be the safer choice as well.
Just like you said, for rotary razor enthusiasts, the S9000 Prestige will be a delight to use — if they can overlook the shortcomings (the price and the lack of a cleaning station). So at least for now, Philips still hasn’t won me over with their rotary shavers.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
You can use the smart cleaning station from series 9. I got the prestige model and kept the smart cleaning station. Works well. I don’t think that Phillips advertised that and only assumed since it’s a cleaning station for series 9 shavers.
Hi Gilbert,
That is correct, I can confirm that it also works with the cleaning station of the 8900 (S8950/90). Unfortunately this will only be useful to users that already own a Series 9000 with a cleaning station like 9700 or 9300.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I just bought a 9000 prestige and just came across your comments that you can use the cleaning station of previous models. So which cleaning station should I buy exactly?
Thanks
Hi Murad,
The S9000 Prestige itself is NOT compatible with any cleaning station. However, if you also own a regular S9000 (like the 9300 or 9700), you can insert the shaving head of your Prestige into the body of the S9000 and simply use it to clean the shaving head of your Prestige shaver. So this fix will only work for Series 9000 owners as it requires both the S9000 shaver and the cleaning station. Hope this makes sense.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Aren’t the dimensions different? I have a S9721 and want a prestige but lack of cleaning station is keeping me from getting it. Thanks.
The size of the shaving unit is pretty much the same, so you can fit the Prestige head to a regular Series 9000 shaver and clean it with the station.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Gilbert
Thanks for the info. So just confirming, is the 9000 Prestige model compatible with the cleaning station of the previous model i.e 9000 model?
Many thanks Ovidiu. By the way I tried the prestige both dry and wet and my experience so far is pretty good. What I found is the closeness of shave depends a lot on your technique. The first few days I was only doing clockwise circular motion but now I do clockwise, anticlockwise and at times a bit up and down motions and getting results as good as my braun series 9.
You are very welcome, Murad. Yes, that’s definitely the way to use a rotary shaver — circular motions are only one part of the technique required in order to get a decent shave. Glad to hear you’re satisfied with the performance of your Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Just learned something new today about the blades of 9000 prestige. I mixed up the blades while doing a thorough cleaning. Then I read in the manual that you have to clean it one blade at a time as they have matching combs. So I called Philips and they told me that if you mix the blades, it may take up to two weeks to get the optimal results as your beard needs time to adapt but the thing is that the blades will sharpen with use as they are self sharpening, which is the reason why it takes up to two weeks for your beard to adapt.
Thanks for taking the time to share this, Murad. The main downside of mixing the blades is in my opinion the increased wear of the blades during those two weeks. Because the edges of the blades don’t sit perfectly flush and flat inside the combs, some of the metal will simply be shaved off due to the increased friction. So it’s not actually the beard adapting, but the blades. I don’t think mixing them just one time will have a large impact on the lifespan and performance of the blades in the long run, but it would be best to avoid it in the future.
Thanks Ovidiu. Yes you are absolutely right.
I have been using Norelco shavers for almost 40 years and Although satisfied with the performance of the 89 models, the S9000 prestige greatly surprised me. Never expected it. Of course the lack of a cleaning station is a let down. Another mistake was having chosen the Q pad version. Anyway being a retired person do not care too much about the time. The only foil ever used was a very old Ronson Model (very disappointing). Never again. I appreciate the detailed and expert review of the master Ovidiw
Thank you for your kind comment, Henry. Glad to hear you’re satisfied with the performance of your Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
How good of a shave is the prestige 9000 series on a scale of 1 to 10, does it shave like a foil shaver?
Hi Gary,
It entirely depends on your preference for rotary or foil shavers. For example, I’m a foil guy through and through, and while the Prestige is clearly the best rotary I’ve used so far, I still prefer a Panasonic Arc 5 or Braun Series 9. My shaving habits, skin and technique all work better with a decent foil shaver.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Miki
My reply is a little late, but here goes. The Philips Cleaning Station can be used for the Prestige Models (mine is S9863) but the fit is not too good. I just place the razor loosely into the station and switch it on manually and leave for 2 minutes. The result is a cleaned razor. Not perfect, and it’s a shame that Philips did not plan on supporting the new line properly. Thank you for you excellent review.
Davis S
That’s awesome, David, thank you so much for taking the time to share this.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I,’m a foil guy too, but I enjoy using rotories as well. I just put the SH98 blades on my 9700 Philips and my shave has really improved compared to using the SH90’s. I’ed still like to get a Prestige,they look so cool.
Clayton
Hi Clayton,
Glad you enjoy the upgrade — I would also take the SH98 over the SH90 any day.
They do look really nice, design-wise Philips has really upped its game.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have a 9711 and Philips told me that the SH98 blades are not compatible and said I should get the SH91 instead: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH91_50/shaver-series-9000-and-sp900-replacement-shaving-heads.
Any suggestions / thoughts Clayton or Ovidiu?
Thanks
Jon
Hi Jon,
The SH98 heads are definitely compatible as well (maybe not officially) — they are being phased out and replaced by the SH91 which are by all accounts identical to the SH98. Either will work perfectly fine on your shaver, so my suggestion would be, as usual, to get the ones that will cost you less money.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
First of all fantastic review very detailed & informative. Few questions,
I own a series 9000 shaver. Does this shaver’s motor different than the 9000 one rpm wise?
If they have a pop on trimmer can the shaving head be interchanged like the trimmer? I mean if the heads can be interchanged like the trimmer then is it worth buying the prestige because if the motor is identical & the rpm is the same changing the head can do the trick if Philips sells the whole head assembly. Thank you for the review, appreciate it.
Hi JD,
Thank you for the kind words.
Regarding the speed of the motor, I do not have any official data, but to me they seem very similar. Even if the one on the Prestige models is a bit faster, I think the difference will be negligible during actual use.
You are right, the shaving heads are the ones that have the biggest impact on the shaving performance. The whole shaving units are interchangeable between the Series 9000 and Series 9000 Prestige and to my surprise, the heads themselves, meaning the SH98 comb & blade pairs of the Prestige, will also fit. I tried them on my S9000 and even though it was a tighter fit for the combs in those plastic holders, the retaining rings still snapped perfectly into place and everything seemed to work just fine. I haven’t shaved with it though.
So I think yes, this could be a viable solution to upgrade a Series 9000 and get most of the benefits of the Prestige line. I don’t know if Philips also sells the whole shaving head for the Prestige, at least I haven’t seen any yet (that would be a safer approach to this).
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
That’s a really fantastic review, and thank you for taking the time to publish such an extensive writeup! I read your review a couple of weeks ago, and last week took the plunge and bought a Series 9000 Prestige, though I have not actually shaved with it as yet as it is a Christmas present to myself, so I will wait until 25th December until I get to try it out. Counting down the days…
In the meantime, I will continue to shave with my 4-year old Series 9000 (though the heads are a little over a year old), which is not too bad a shave at all… but I’m really looking forward to the added comfort the Prestige model will hopefully bring…
We all know that none of the Series 9000 Prestige models come with a SmartClean station, but I’ve discovered that you can pop the head off the Series 9000 Prestige, put it on the old Series 9000 body, and then put it in the SmartClean station to clean it. Of course, the Series 9000 Prestige body will need to be charged separately, but for those who have an older Series 9000 with SmartClean this will hopefully be a useful tip!
Cheers,
Rob.
Hi Rob,
Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate it. That’s actually a fantastic tip for Series 9000 owners.
I hope you’ll enjoy using your new shaver!
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for your article Nicolae. I have the same shaver, and I want to ask you. How do you think , can I use with this beast)) Pre-Shave oil such as Clarins or Truefitt&Hill.
Thank you very much.
Hi Igor,
I haven’t used mine with a pre-shave oil, so I cannot say how well it will work. There’s always the possibility that a pre-shave oil may clog the shaver and thus have a negative impact on your results. The only way to find out is to actually try it. I personally don’t use pre-shave oils with my electric razors because they tend to be messy and more difficult to clean.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Congratulations for amazing review! I never seen so usable and helpful review about technical product. (Excuse me for my bad english). I have series 9000 Braun and Philips, and both are working superb for me. I have only dry shaving. Braun 9000 have a good cleaning station; after every shaving I use it. Is it enough for good condition, or it is prefferable to clean adittionaly with spray? My Philips 9000 have not cleaning station. I clean it with special cleaning liquid from Philips-in large cup put 2 cm of liquid, leave the shaver head in it for 10 min and few times activate motor to rinse heads. This is “my method” and I practice it two times monthly. Of course I rinse with water the head after every shaving. After riding your review I think that tomorrow will buy one Prestige shaver:-)))). I love this toys and feel as collectioner of some special arts.
Sincerelly, Emil, Bulgaria
Hi Emil,
Thank you for your comment, I truly appreciate it.
If you use the cleaning station with your Braun Series 9 there’s no need for additional cleaning. I would get a spray only if I were to clean it manually (with soap and water).
If you like the Philips Series 9000, I think you’ll love the Prestige. I also have a passion for these toys as you can probably tell; the downside is that collecting electric shavers can become an expensive hobby (I found that out for myself). Just like art I guess. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Would recommend either a Braun Series 7 or 9 shaver, and this new Philips Series 9000 Prestige shaver for beard growth of up to a week, and would you also recommend the Panasonic ES-LV9Q or LV6Q 5 for up to a few days growth?
Would you also recommend a Panasonic for men who have non curly beard growth, whilst both the Braun and Philips shavers are better for Middle Eastern, African or Afro Caribbean beards? As you may have observed, these ethic groups tend to suffer with razor bump, due to the way in which their facial hair follicle is growing from beneath the skin.
Hi Eric,
Those are some great questions.
Out of all foil shavers out there, the ones from Braun are the best in my opinion for shaving longer hairs, the Series 9 in particular being very efficient. One week would really be pushing it, but it could be done with decent results if the facial hair doesn’t grow too fast. The Series 9000 Prestige, being a very capable rotary razor, works arguably better for longer facial hair than a foil shaver. But it does come with a couple of potential drawbacks also mentioned in the review (comfort and closeness). While it is better than its predecessors, I think for most users the Series 9 would be a better choice. Again, one week is very long and electric shavers are designed to be used on short facial hair.
The Panasonic ES-LV9Q/ES-LV6Q will work best on straight, short beards — I’d say 3 days being the upper limit (depending on the beard growth). So yes, they would be suitable for men with non-curly beards and for frequent use. For men that suffer from razor bumps and ingrown hairs, Braun shavers are the better option. They are more forgiving and gentle than Panasonic shavers that tend to be pretty aggressive and can even make things worse in the case of razor bumps.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I actually have a 6 year old Panasonic ES-RF31 Arc 4 shaver, which I found to be both blunt and abrasive on my face. I never used this shaver more then a dozen times to date because of this shaving experience, but I am trying to understand what the difference between my current Panasonic shaver is compared to that of the Braun Series 7 or 9 for instance. It seems that with the exception of the foil head on the latter mentioned shaver, and the various additional cutters or rollers on the newer Braun and Panasonic foil heads respectively, no one has categorically justified a real reason to spend upward of £300 or dollars on these newer shavers.
My first electric shaver was when I turned 18 some 24 years ago, and it was a Braun which I found to be the best electric shaving experience I ever had. I even used it on my dying Grandfather in hospital before the foil ripped apart. I have also used what was known as a Philishave sports model in 2002, but this permanently scared my left neck area, under my jaw bone, because the rotary foils were too abrasive for that area of my face.
I was hellbent on spending on the new Philips Series 9000 Prestige shaver in recent weeks, because I am an infrequent shaver, but your last response has swung me more towards the Braun Series 9. However I am not keen on a cleaning station as I think this is ultimately an unnecessary expensive running cost. However, I do accept that buying a cheap electric shaver can ruin your face and is not worth it in the long run. Indeed both my current Panasonic shaver, and my old Philishave shaver were cheap compared to what was on offer from rival brands.
We need a fourth manufacturer, like Remington, to step up and make shaver that encompasses all the good functionality of the Braun, Philips and Panasonic shavers, so that it does not continue to become a trade off between power and comfort, or rotary and foil..
Hi Eric,
Your current Panasonic is one of the older Arc 4 models that was fitted with a significantly less powerful motor (10 000 CPM as opposed to the 14 000 CPM units found on other models like ES-LA63-S or ES-LF51-A). I’ve owned many Panasonic shavers and the ones with 7600, 8000 or 10 000 CPM motors performed poorly. Describing them as blunt and abrasive would be very accurate.
So in my opinion you shouldn’t have to get the latest Arc 5 (the one with the golden rollers) to see an improvement. Even one of the Arc 4 models I mentioned or the ES-LV65-S should provide significantly better performance.
The motors really make a difference in the case of Panasonic shavers.
Braun’s take on this is a little different. They mostly use motors with a lower speed (around 10 000 CPM), but are very torquey and together with the cutting block they just work really well.
The cleaning stations are not necessary in the case of Panasonic (and even Philips) shavers, but I usually recommend them with the Series 7 and 9. The models that come with the station generally cost just a bit more than the solo shavers and the costs associated with buying new refills can be minimal. For example, I only use the station once a week or even less and just clean my Series 7/9 manually in the meantime. This prevents dirt buildups inside the cassette and I save a lot of cleaning fluid by simply taking out the cartridge and putting the cap back on. I don’t buy Braun original refills as they’re expensive so I simply make my own solution using a third party concentrate that mixes with alcohol. In this manner the overall costs are negligible.
All electric shavers have pros and cons, but I do think we have enough good options. It’s just that it can be overwhelming weeding out all the fluff and extracting the really useful information that can help you select a suitable shaver.
Philips has a 90-day money back guarantee, so you could give the S9000 Prestige a go.
https://youtu.be/ui3s6Jb7y7E?t=632 – Power button broken on Braun Series 9
https://youtu.be/ui3s6Jb7y7E?t=697 – Shaving foil cutter broken on Braun Series 9
Hi Ovidiu,
I have been doing some further video based research on the Braun Series 9, and I came across a professional barber from America who had identified some structural failings on this shaver within the last 6-12 months. I have duly provided you with the specific YouTube links from a 6 month update he produced for this shaver, that he did just a few months ago.
Do let me know your thoughts on this, as it reiterates what I had written to you above last week about a foil head breaking after a large amount of continuous use. You have also noted on your own review for the Braun Series 9, that the build quality was a bit cheap in terms of its chassis compared to that of the Philips S9000 Prestige, and the latest Panasonic Arc 5 shaver.
Hi Eric,
Thank you for providing the links. I don’t think his findings are very relevant to most Series 9 users. Precisely, the shaver in question was used daily by a professional barber in his shop, meaning a whole lot more than the typical user. I still cannot draw a definitive conclusion (I personally haven’t had any issues so far), but some cassettes do seem to fall apart prematurely. The frequency of use, as well as how the users take care of their shaver will also affect the lifespan of the head.
Compared to the S9000 Prestige and the Arc 5, the Series 9 feels less solid and even cheap. In fact, even the second generation Arc 5 (ES-LV65-S) is superior in this regard. And this is bad mainly because you would expect more in this price range. I would be willing to overlook the plasticky body but not a potential design flaw of the shaving head. While there are definitely some reports about the failing Series 9 cassettes, I don’t think that’s the case, at least right now. Just to be on the safe side, the Series 7 is a really good alternative to the 9 and in most cases it will be more than suitable for the job.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hey Ovidiu, nice reviews. Do you consider the Panasonic ES-LV6Q to be a considerable upgrade over the Panasonic ES-LV95? I currently have the LV95 and am considering upgrading to the LV6Q but don’t know if it would make a significant difference. Thanks for any answer!
Hi,
Unless there’s something wrong with your ES-LV95, like the battery not being able to hold a charge anymore, I wouldn’t upgrade, at least not for now. The LV6Q doesn’t provide a massive performance bump, so I personally would keep using the LV95. I would consider buying the foils & blades used by the newer Arc 5 shavers (they are backward compatible) when it comes the time to replace them. That’s a quick and less expensive upgrade in my opinion and you’ll get most of the benefits of the newer generation.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for the review. it was helpful before purchasing. I’ve been using the shaver for 2 months now, and it’s the best shaver I’ve ever used. I have very sensitive and dry skin, and this is super comfortable even with 5 day growth. And also the closest shave I’ve had with a rotary. I for sure won’t be making use of Philips 90 day no quibble money back guarantee. It’s great.
Hey,
That’s great, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Really Wish they have a model with Cleaning Station. I mean part of the reason why I use Electric Shaver is I am lazy. ( Or I would have perform the Man’s ritual of Good Old Style Shave ) , reading the cleaning procedure it was more complicated than Foil.
On a related note, any chance new Gillette Hybrid shaver gets a review. ( https://www.wired.com/story/gillette-new-heated-razor/ ) Not Electric Shaver, but it is kind of related.
Hi Ed,
I totally agree with you. As for the Gillette Hybrid, I think it is a bit outside of the scope of this website since it’s basically a cartridge razor (that gets hot). But I might give it a try once it’s available in Europe.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Great review: thank you. Two quick questions:
1. I have the 9311 (still shaves great but makes a horrible screeching noise unless wettened with water first, even though I use the cleaning station a lot) and just wanted to confirm your earlier comment that the newer blades for the Prestige will indeed fit, albeit tightly, in the 9xxx heads.
2. The new blades seem more expensive so are they the entire shaving head that snaps into the body of the shaved or just the round blades?
Thanks. Hoping to get the best of both worlds by just using the new Prestige blades in the 9311.
Hi David,
Thank you for your comment.
1. Yes, it is a tighter fit, but they will fit the Series 9000.
2. Just the three blade & guard pairs, so not the entire shaving head.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Great site!
It looks like Best Buy has an exclusive version of this shaver with the wireless charging pad and with a chrome finish.
Thank you for your comment, Kevin. The SP9860/86 that comes with the charging pad has indeed a darker shade of silver, but the finish itself is still brushed/matte despite the Chrome part in the model name.
Thanks for the correction. Like yourself, I’d much rather have a cleaning station for this shaver at this price point. I can’t believe even a stand isn’t included. I think I’ll stick with my Panasonic Arc5 as I’m still pretty happy with it. I just enjoy the tech aspect of these shavers quite a bit!
You are welcome, Kevin. I feel the same way with the regards to the Prestige line. However, I think you made the right decision, there’s really no reason to upgrade and I’m also not entirely sure that this would be an upgrade coming from a Panasonic Arc 5.
I’m getting ready for a new Norelco because the old one finally died, and due to delicate skin I think I will try the Prestige line. I do wish the wireless charger was a bit faster, but I have been wirelessly charging my smart phone for several years, and simply keeping it topped off works fine. I do not intend to buy a wireless charger for the shaver, but I do not see that as being problematic either way.
So far as cleaning goes, I have used several flavors of Norelcos in the shower for years, used shaving gel regularly, and found it very simple and convenient to pop the shaver top and rinse the blades, top and base with hot shower water when I finished. Infrequently I added drop or 3 of liquid soap. Just another point of view, but personally I won’t miss the automatic cleaner at all along with the cleaning cartridges and extra time it takes me to use them.
Also, thank you for the detailed review. I appreciated and enjoyed it.
Thank you for your comment, Noel. Hope you’ll enjoy the Prestige if you decide to get one.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Thanks for your detailed review which is for sure an in dept review on the latest shaver from Philips I’ve read on the net so far.
I was about to purchase one to try but after reading your review I feel I should hold on to it. I’m also very disappointed to a so called Prestige shaver with this price tag that doesn’t come with a cleaning station. I’ve tried different type of shavers in my life, Philips, Braun, Panasonic and also Hitachi since I live in Japan. Some of old Hitachi G-Sword Rotary shavers do exactly the same job as the latest Panasonic 5 bladed shavers. I personally started to stay away from Panasonic shavers since the replacement blades comes with a huge price tag and for the best performance, it’s required to replace the heads after pretty much 6 months of shaving on daily bases.
Thanks,
Steven
Hi Steven,
Thank you for your comment. I think you made the right decision, at least for now as the price of the Prestige models is still very high. Unfortunately I haven’t got the chance to try those old Hitachi shavers and I am very intrigued by them, to say the least.
I agree with you with regards to Panasonic replacement parts. I have however managed to sort of get around this. Precisely, after one year or so I also experience a drop in performance. When that happens I just use a spray cleaner & lubricant like Remington Shaver Saver or Braun spray cleaner. And these products work wonders and allow me to get quite a few more months of use from the blades before buying a new set (foils + blades).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thank you for this very thorough review, it is very interesting to read. Being a gadget man, I love those high end shavers with a high end finish and some with whistles and bells. Of course, the shave performance must be good as well. From that perspective, I am very satisfied with my Braun series 9 shaver. However, the Philips 9000 Prestige is very intriguing. What is your opinion on vary between the Braun foil shaver with the Philips rotary shaver day by day?
Hi Robert,
Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it.
Having used both quite extensively, I would personally take the Series 9 over the Prestige any day. I always get a closer, faster and more comfortable shave using the Series 9. And from my experience, I think most users would also prefer the Series 9. Unless you know from past experience that rotary shavers work really well for your skin, facial hair and shaving technique, I would say that the Series 9 is a better choice for most men.
If you really want to give it a try, Philips does offer a money back, no questions asked guarantee in case you’re not satisfied with the product.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Firstly, excellent review, really nice work!!
I’m interested in purchasing my first electric shaver and the Philips S9000 prestige. However, I’d much rather not have to constantly strip down and clean the shaver heads. This means I have some reservations about this shaver.
I’ve seen some articles about using an ultrasonic (jewellery) cleaners to clean shaver heads. I’m really interested on your opinion about using such a device for this purpose please?
Regards, Drew
Hi Drew,
Thank you for your kind comment.
I’ve also seen some reports about using ultrasonic cleaners. In theory, they should remove dirt and oils quite efficiently, but you would still need to disassemble the shaving unit and only place the blades and combs in the cleaner. I haven’t used one and can’t say anything about the long term effects (it can affect malleable metals, but stainless steel blades should be fine). For these reasons, I cannot recommend them nor advise against using one. I personally would still go for a spray cleaner and lubricant — they are cheap, easy to use, safe and very effective.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Thank you for this really useful website.
If you haven’t tried an ultrasonic cleaner as yet I would highly recommend one to you. You can get them from Amazon for very cheap.
I had washed a well used Braun Series 3 and also a Series 5 to the point were you couldn’t see any visible dirt or hairs in the cassettes (Using soap and also Braun’s cleaning spray). I put them one at a time in a 600ml ultrasonic cleaner with hot water and Fairy Liquid (Dish washing soap). As soon as I turned the machine on I could instantly see what looked like smoke coming from the cassettes. By the end the water was completely cloudy. There was also a lot of tiny hair cuttings which had been dislodged from the cassettes. I didn’t take the cassettes apart. I can’t comment on how they cut afterwards as they weren’t my shavers but I fully intend to use it for mine when I feel I need to.
Also, you can use the cleaner for a whole assortment of other things. As I said before I definitely highly recommend one. I don’t think you would be disappointed.
Hi Bradley,
Thank you for the comment. That actually got me really intrigued, I will be getting one and try it myself.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for the great review.
In your opinion which speed setting gives the closest shave ?
Low / Medium / High ?
Thanks
Hi Fabrizio,
In my experience the High speed setting delivered the best performance. At least in my case, I didn’t see any benefits from using the lower settings.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Dear Ovidiu
Thank for you in debt review, I do lack information regarding the trimmers though….
I use Braun 9040 for my legs, but now the all important trimmer has stopped moving from side to side (shaver still works). Since repair is too costly, I need a shaving mashine with the best trimmer available. Which shaving machine has the best trimmer, do you think?
I thought – untill today, that the phillips 982012 (series 9000) I ordered was a safe bet, since the trimmer is places were the shaver is, and therefore possibly won´t break down, as with the more normal side trimmers as on Braun. What would you do?
Kind regards
malene
I read, that you though the new phillips trimmer has poor performance.
Hi malene,
Thank you for your comment.
My experience with the trimmer on Series 9000 Prestige is strictly related to using it on my face — for things like trimming and edging my sideburns. If you plan on using it to shave your legs, the trimmer on any electric shaver will not be ideal. They are really intended to be used sparingly for light grooming. In your case, I would consider something like a Philips Bodygroom. You can check out my review of the latest model here.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello Mr. Ovidiu
I was using old Philips Norelco Smart Tuch 9190 XL and was OK.
I want to tray the Foil shaver and I just got the Braun Shaver 9290, It has everything and I like it.
But now I so at Bestbuy the Norelco Prestige.
From your experience, what is your advice, shod I keep the Braun 9290 or returned back and buy the new Norelco 9820.
Thank You
(Multumesc)
Hi Peter,
I personally would keep the Series 9 without even thinking too much about it. It shaves closer, it is a lot more comfortable and the shave is overall more enjoyable and faster, at least in my experience. I think for most users the Series 9 would be a better option.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello Mr. Ovidiu
Do you recommend a Pre-Shaving solution to be use with any electric shaver,
and which one do you recommend???
Thank You
Multumesc Mult.
Hi Peter,
A pre-shave solution can improve the closeness and comfort of a dry shave, but as for how significant it will be, that varies from one user to another. My personal favorite is the pre-shave lotion from Speick, I find it to work the best out of all the brands I’ve tried so far.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Nicolaie you mention that you prefer Speick pre-Shave lotion, Wher do you buy Speick Pre-Shave lotion from.
I live in Florida and is hard to find that lotion.
Thanks
Hi Peter,
Speick is a German brand and it’s pretty easy to get here in Europe from various online and physical stores. Since you live in Florida, I would suggest Amazon (they sometimes have it in stock) or eBay (maybe even some European sellers that ship overseas).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thank You, Mr. Ovidiu
I’m going to Serbia and Romania next week I sure that I will be able to get it from there.
Thanks Again
Ok, now one more thing, as I mentioned earlier I got the Braun 9290
(Series 9) but this model is like 3 years old I think, do you think that they are coming with a new series soon, like Series 11 maybe.
You are very welcome, Peter. In my opinion, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Braun even recently rolled out an update to the Series 9 (the new models start with 93, for example 9390cc), so that’s yet another reason to support this supposition. The Series 9 sales are still going strong.
Hey, great and detailed review.
I have a braun 5xxx serie for 3 year. And it takes me ages to shave my neck. I am looking for a better shaver. Do you think as braun did not fit the bill I should try the s9000 elite?
I can buy for the same price the normal 9000 serie with cleaner vs the elite. What do you suggest? Txs
Hi,
Thank you, glad you found it useful.
Both options should be (noticeably) better than a Series 5000. I would personally go with the Prestige despite the lack of a cleaning station because it’s smoother and more comfortable (at least to my skin). I find the Series 5000 to be a bit too harsh and the Prestige is really the only rotary shaver that gets me a reasonably close and comfortable shave on the neck. If you don’t have this issue with the Series 5000 (or other rotary razors in general), you should get good results with the regular S9000 as well.
I did find the Prestige to be slightly better than the S9000 with long and flat hairs on the neck though, so again if that’s something you deal with as well, that’s another plus for the Prestige.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Thanks for a detailed review. I was wondering if Prestige’s head would fit on Norelco 9300.
Hi,
You are very welcome.
While it is not officially compatible, the Prestige head will fit the 9300 and should work just fine (I even managed to fit it to my Norelco 8900).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
First, I would like to thank you for the excellent reviews of the major electric shavers.
After reading your review of the norelco 9000 prestige, I decided to try to order a prestige shaving head SH98 for my norelco S9731. This will save me about $200 and give me a chance to kind of have a new razor. I made this decision after reading some of the comments.
I also need your help about buying a Panasonic shaver. I have been trying to buy a es-lv9 for the last year here in the US, but it is not available. Do you know anything about when it will be available in the US and do the gold colored rollers make that much difference between the es-lv9 and the es-lv65 ? Should I wait for the es-lv6 or buy a es-lv65 ?
Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Marshall
Hi Marshall,
Thank you for your comment, glad you found the information useful.
Given the price, availability and performance differences, I think you should go ahead and get the ES-LV65-S. The golden rollers and the revised outer foil make shaving somewhat more comfortable (especially during a dry shave), but that’s about it. Moreover, you can actually upgrade the ES-LV65-S with the newer foil later on. It is backward compatible, even though there’s no information about that on Panasonic’s website. I wrote a detailed guide on that topic here. There’s also no information regarding an official USA launch of the newer Arc 5 models.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Great review. I bought one based on your review and could not be happier with the performance of this shaver. I am commenting because I am coming from a Braun 7000 series foil shaver.
The Prestige gives me a faster more consistent shave then the foil shaver. I also find it is very quick to clean….less than 30 seconds. I would still be shaving with my foil shaver by the time I am completely done the the Pestige (cleaning and all).
One other thing that I experienced with the foil shaver is that when shaving close to the eyes, flecks if shaving debris would end up in my eyes on occasion and irritate my eyes. This does not happen with the rotary shaver.
Hi Dan,
Many thanks for taking the time to share your experience with this shaver — glad you’re satisfied with the performance of the Prestige. It is the best rotary shaver I’ve used so far, however I’m still reaching out for one of my foil shavers most of the time. In my case, they seem to consistently provide a better and faster shave.
I’ve heard of hair clippings and debris getting flicked in the eyes during use, so that can happen under certain conditions (how close to the eyes is the area you’re shaving, the speed and direction of the stroke, the shaver itself and so on). The blades of a rotary shaver turn at a much slower rate so it’s a lot less likely to cause something similar.
Thank you again for your comment, much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello there! Yes, indeed an excellent review!
would you recommend to get the new shaver replacement head for s9xxxx shavers? It will fit, the question is if it would improve the performance over the standard, SH90 replacement heads. It costs only 10e more than the SH90 head, although SH90 comes with the base-head also.
Thank you,
Daniel.
Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your comment.
For me personally, that would be a worthy upgrade. I think the shaving head is the main advantage of the Prestige line over the regular Series 9000 models. How much of a difference will it make in your case, that I cannot say with certainty. As I mentioned in the review, I don’t really get along well with rotary shavers, not even with Norelco’s top of the line Series 9000. That was until the Prestige range — and while the shave is still not as good for me compared to a capable foil razor, it is better than any rotary I’ve tried before.
In my case, the comfort and the efficiency of the shaver at catching difficult hairs were the most noticeable improvements.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have the 9000. I do not use the cleaning station. I prefer to clean the blades manually. I find the cleaning station for me to be a hassle and have to keep up with the cleaning liquids. I run the blade under hot water after each use. Once a month I take the blades apart and give them a good cleaning with alcohol. After each use and after a good cleaning I lubricate the blades with the proper lubricant.
I was in a store looking at the 9000 Prestige. The dealer showed me I can put the Prestige cutters (blades) on to the 9000 that I have. He told me some people find the inductive charging to not be convenient. It also takes more space on the counter and is slower to charge as mentioned in the article.
The sales man also told me he believes but did not try it, the inductive charging station can charge a phone and other compatible Q1 inductive chargeable devices. He also said he believes the inductive Q1 type phone chargers will also charge this shaver. He did mention that he himself has not tried this, but strongly believes this should work.
I am now using the older 9000 with a newer replacement blade on it. It is very comfortable and it does a terrific close shave. It is more quiet than the older version of blade unit. I found the newer version of blade unit is a bit more difficult to take apart and clean than the older version that looks the same visually when seated on to the shaver. It is not the exact same looking blade unit as the Prestige, but the cutters seem to look the same. I did not at present check the part number of the newer replacement.
There are clone blades on the market at much lower cost. Stay away from these. They are terrible and a waste of money! Use only the original Philips blades and accessories.
Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed comment, Jerry. I believe your old blades were the discontinued RQ12 and the ones you’re using are the SH90. To me the ones on the Prestige cut just as close, but are more comfortable than the SH90 that now come on the Series 9000.
And I totally agree with regards to clone blades, they are terrible.
Great review. Thanks for that.
One issue that hasn’t been mentioned with upgrading to a newer model is battery life. I have an old Philips SensoTouch 3D from about 4 years ago. I have replaced the head before (as mentioned in an earlier post you have to buy the whole head piece and not the individual blades) and need to do so again. Evan at over $100 in my part of the world it is a lot cheaper than the base model S9000 series but now I am concerned about battery life based on previous Philips shavers I have had. (I have been a rotary shaver convert since my first 2 shavers which were foil blades.) Do you have any comment on battery life?
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your comment, much appreciated. Unfortunately I cannot yet comment on the battery life (so far so good with my unit), but it’s still too early to draw a conclusion regarding its longevity. I’ve only been using the Prestige for less than a year and I have quite a few shavers in my rotation (mostly for reviewing), so it’s not getting as much use as a shaver would normally get in a real-world scenario. I will of course update the article if anything comes up in the meantime, but for now I cannot really say anything with certainty.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi there!
Great review. So I’m actually thinking of making the switch from a regular manual razor to electric. I don’t shave daily (maybe once or twice a week), and shaving generally irritates my skin (possibly bc of the fact that I don’t shave frequently). My facial hair is thick and somewhat curly/wiry. That’s why I’m thinking this might be the right electric shaver for me. Thoughts? Also, for what it’s worth, I don’t care to have a super close shave. In fact, sometimes I just use a trimmer all over my face to get the hair really short as that avoids the irritation. What is important, however, is that it’s a uniform look across the beard, and that my shaver can handle long-ish and wiry type hair. Do you think this is the right shaver??
Hi Joe,
Thank you for your comment.
For shaving longer and wiry facial hair, this is one of the more capable electric razors out there (alongside the Braun Series 9). However, ideally you’d want to use an electric shaver on reasonably short hairs as that’s when they perform the best. So in your case, I think twice a week would be recommended. The Series 9, which is a foil shaver, is in my opinion more comfortable, while the Prestige handles the longer hairs a bit better — but this may very well vary among different users. I prefer foil shavers, so the Series 9 would be my choice, but again, it’s more of a personal issue.
Also, when switching from a manual razor to an electric shaver it can take at least a few weeks until you’ll be able to get the best results. Your technique will also gradually improve as you’re getting used to the new method of shaving.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I find your reviews very helpful, and I would like to ask a question about the 9000 Prestige shaver.
Is it normal for the led display to come on for a few seconds every now and then showing the power level whilst it is on the charger?
Hi Danny,
Thank you for your comment. I haven’t noticed that with my shaver, but to be honest I never really paid attention to it while charging. Is yours by any chance the one with wireless charging?
–Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Yes it is it also happens when I walk past it, so I wonder if it’s sensitive to vibrations.
Most likely yes, Danny. That lift to wake function can be a bit too sensitive, regardless if the shaver is charging or just sitting still on a surface. The display on my Prestige will actually light up if I tap the desk for example. So I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.
–Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I would like to ask you another question about the Prestige shaver.
Can you oil the blades of the razor?
I ask because there is nothing in the instructions regarding this.
Many thanks,
Danny.
Hi Danny,
I already answered the question in this comment.
–Ovidiu
Hello. Your reviews are most helpful compared to any online source for such reviews, and is the source I locate when Phillips releases a new high-end razor. I do have two questions.
01 – What accessories are included with the SP9880 variant? That is not in the table. I conducted preliminary research and discovered it is sold in Hong Kong.
02 – Will you update the article with the part number of the entire head assembly when it becomes available? I wish not to purchase the SH98 because that is only part of the assembly; only the entire assembly I purchased previously for the S8900 and S9700 series, and that would not change when I purchase the SP9800 series.
Hello,
Thank you for your comment, much appreciated.
Regarding the questions,
1. The SP9880 is indeed a region-specific model that wasn’t around when I first published the review. The accessories are the Qi-charging pad, hair trimmer attachment, massage attachment, facial cleansing brush, fresh eyes attachment and of course the travel case.
2. Absolutely, so far I haven’t seen it being released.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
The massage and fresh eyes attachments are new to me. Never have I heard of them, but they sound interesting.
I think the SH98/71 on Amazon is the part number for the head with the full assembly. I think so because the description mentions only two steps to change the head, and I assume two steps are: [a] remove the old assembly, and; [b] add the new assembly. I can be wrong of course. To confirm, the entire assembly does attach perfectly to the S97** series for use in the cleaning system. This is how I use the cleaning system with the new head assembly, and it works well. No need to disassemble the assembly itself.
Hi Ovidiu,
I would like to ask one more question about the Prestige razor:
Do you still need to oil the blades as I note it doesn’t say anything in the instructions about this?
Many thanks,
Danny
Hi Danny,
It is still recommended even though manufacturers don’t always explicitly say so. It’s particularly important if you clean the shaver with soap. You can use light machine oil (like for example sewing machine oil), clipper oil, electric shaver oil or a spray lubricant. I wrote a detailed guide on lubrication here.
–Ovidiu
Correction: SH98/72.
Hi,
Thank you for your comment.
The SH98/72 is not the whole shaving unit, but the top plate (with the 3 shaving heads) that you normally remove after shaving to clean the cutters. So it does not have the bottom half of the shaving unit that is attached to the shaver body, but it still appears to be compatible with the regular S9000 series, so you can definitely use the cleaning station.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
If you have a Series 9000 already you can just fit the head section easily it’s fully compatible with all Series 9000 Philips (just don’t expect them to tell you that).
Also the reason they are moving away from cleaning stations is people didn’t bother cleaning the cleaning stations. They then gunked / blocked up and people would return to place of purchase claiming they don’t work anymore. Place of purchase then has to replace entire shaver and unit, and claim the faulty ones on Philips.
I guess it all became too much of a hassle.
Also another tip..
When shaving using an electric razor use something like Lab Series Electric Shaver lotion before you shave, and then lubricate the shaver blades (under and over) with Philips shaver spray.
You’ll get an insanely smooth and close shave without any razor burn or dragging 🙂
Happy shaving!
Thank you for your comment, Mitch. I agree, using a pre-shave lotion and spray lubricant is probably the easiest way to get the most out of an electric shaver with minimal effort. It works great for both foil and rotary razors.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello, I own already a s9711 with a cleaning station. If I replace the heads with the prestige’s heads, could I use the shaver with longer hair (5 or 6 days). I use the shaver for skull too. Also cleaning station sould work as mentioned.
Thank you advance
Vassilis
Hello Vassilis,
Yes, that should work just fine (and also for shaving your head).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have just returned the sp 9863 as I don’t like the slowing charging wireless station and I much prefer to plug it at the main, unfortunately the 9820 is not available in uk, do the prestige serie 9000 have another wired model? What other philips are close to the prestige?
Hi Tom,
If you can’t get it in the UK, the closest would be the regular Series 9000. For example, the S9711/31 that also comes with a cleaning station.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I bought a Prestige SP9820/12 recently and your review was spot-on. I attempted to register the purchase and failed, like you as I’m in Spain and the model was not recognised. The customer support unit seems to be useless and wanted €5 to speak to me. They claim to be experts but turn out to be unhelpful geeks. Notwithstanding, the shaver is very good as per your review, but do you know of any way to convey the registration problem to Philips ? Your help would be appreciated !
Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear about your trouble — unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to get around the registration issue. I never managed to register mine and just gave up altogether after a few tries. I knew the support wasn’t stellar, but asking money just to answer your questions is just outrageous.
At least the shaver proved to be a good choice.
I’m sorry I can’t help you more with this.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Thanks for your through review of the Phillips Norelco Prestige shaver. I don’t understand your bemoaning the lack of a cleaning station. I think cleaning stations are a waste of counter space, electricity and money for fluid. All modern electric shavers are easily cleaned under running water or if using them dry just brushing out the cuttings. If you want to bemoan the disappearance of something the lack of providing a cleaning brush with both this shaver as well as the Braun series 8 shavers is the epitome of corporate greed and cheapness. I thought not providing a plastic cap to protect the heads or screens was stupid but not including a cleaning brush is crazy. I assume I will have to hold on to the brush that came with my Braun 7893s shaver until I die because the trend from the shaver manufactures is not including brushes with any new shavers.
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you for your comment. I totally agree with most of the points you made. My main gripe was that a shaver that costs this much should come with a cleaning station. We could debate whether they’re really needed or not, but again, that wasn’t the main issue here in my opinion. For example, I always recommend skipping the station with Panasonic shavers as they’re redundant and the models that don’t have it are significantly cheaper. In certain cases the station could be useful and practical. Cheap third-party cleaning solutions are also available and work really well.
But again, it’s really a matter of personal preference. I get comments and emails from users that don’t want to deal with manual cleaning at all (regardless of how easy it is to clean a modern shaver).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Costco sells a couple of Philips Norelco models- the 9200 and the 9900 PRO. Could you provide a bit of insight around these selections and where they might fit into the broader Philips Norelco lineup?
Thanks!
Hi Howie,
The 9200 and 9900 PRO models are similar to the Series 9000 shavers like the 9300 and 9700, respectively. Performance-wise, I’d say they will be pretty much identical to those. So I would place them right below the S9000 Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thank you. So as a result, one could expect the S9000 Prestige blades (replacement head) to also fit the 9200 and 9900 PRO models?
You are very welcome. I’m not 100% certain, but it should fit those models as well.
Very good site
Thank you, Peter, glad you found it helpful.
–Ovidiu
Hi,
For those with the Qi model, is there any wired adapter for this model that we can buy so that we can charge the shaver by plugging it into the mains?
Hi,
I’m afraid no, at least not to my knowledge. Also, the shaver doesn’t have an external charging port, so I don’t see how this could be achieved with an adapter.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for the comprehensive review. I was looking forward to using this shaver to replace the Sensotouch 3D. As far as the shave goes it works well.
However I have had a problem with the blade assembly unit popping apart during use (on more than one occasion), with the blades flying across the floor. I reported the first shaver, and it was deemed a fault and replaced , but the replacement does the same thing.
I use a light touch and circular motion, so I can only put it down to a design issue with the head assembly.
Thankfully the blades or cover were not damaged , but I can see that they could easily be, and not cheap to replace.
I would interested if anybody else has experienced this.
Hi David,
Thank you for your comment. That is very interesting, I personally haven’t experienced anything similar with my Prestige unit or with any other Philips rotary shaver. Since the blades were scattered across the floor, I suppose that the problem is with the retaining rings that lock the blades in place. Either they are defective or are not properly locked, causing excessive vibrations and making the top part of the shaving unit to pop out. I would thoroughly inspect them and make sure they are locked. It would be very unlucky, but also unlikely to get a second faulty unit. But again, not impossible.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi
I should have clarified. It is not the blades that fall out , they are still locked in. Just the top half of the unit that houses the blades pops off.
That’s an important detail. The top part of the shaving unit, the plastic frame that you pry off, is friction fitted and takes quite a bit of force to remove. Does it pop out way too easy when you squeeze the sides and remove it?
This could come from the fact that you have to remove them every time you want to clean it. It does take its toll on the friction connection.
Great unbiased review. One point though. The big advantage of having wireless charging is the fact that it is wireless! This makes the razor completely waterproof. If it had a cable socket then it wouldn’t be!
Thank you for your comment, John, much appreciated.
Well, both the wireless and the regular Prestige shavers have the same IPX7 rating. It’s true that the wireless one doesn’t have a charging port, but there are still panels put together with gaskets and sealant and water could still get inside under certain conditions. The IPX7 rating only means that it’s safe to submerge the shaver in water of up to 1m for less than 30 minutes.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for explaining. Anyway I’ve bought one and I love it!
Cheers
Awesome, glad you’re happy with it!
I had been using the S9000(Qi version ) for a few weeks and it does give a great shave, but I returned it for the 9300 and a set of the SH98 blades(which do fit the 9000 series)…
1) The S9000 IMO is way overpriced for what you get. Yes you get a metal body but you get no cleaning base, no blade cover and no brush.
2) the Qi charging is SLOW, taking about double the time vs the corded.
3) I really haven’t seen any advantage to the added motor sensing functionality. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a very heavy beard or I am used to my prior Panasonic, where you could hear the motor change speeds, but the motor speed seemed the same throughout the shave, with no detectable changes.
I think going with the 9300 + the SH98 blades is the way to go. You get the shave of the S9000, with the added benefit of the cleaning base and not having to constantly pull off and put the blades back on, risking them popping off eventually, never mind the whole combination ends but being cheaper/the same price
Thank you for taking the time to share this, Chuck. I totally agree and feel the same about all the three points (which was probably obvious from the review as well).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I had been using a Panasonic Arc 5 for about 4 years and was really happy with shaving every day. However, since I started working from home most days(even before Corona virus), I only shaved a a couple/few times a week and this is where the Panasonic started causing issues with the longer 3/4 days beards I would grow. I was getting serious neck burn.
Reading this review and your mention of “For someone that shaves irregularly, this electric razor would be a fantastic choice.” is what prompted me to try the S9000. And I thank you for that. It was great but I really missed the cleaning base(having had it for the last 3 razors I owned). So that is what prompted me to research the 930/SH98 combo.
Thanks for the insight
No problem, Chuck. Glad you found the winning combo.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I have used a rotary shaver for the best part of 40 years.
Would you recommend changing to a foil shaver or sticking to rotary. I have never used a foil type.
Thanks,
Glenn
Hi Glenn,
I’m afraid I do not have a definitive answer to that question. It all comes down to your shaving habits, facial hair particularities, and some sort of user bias towards one or the other type (for more details check out this article). Some readers of this website that have been life-time rotary users have tried a foil shaver and were absolutely thrilled with the results, but I cannot guarantee that it will be the right choice for absolutely everyone.
But I do think that for most users, a foil shaver will be a safer bet, especially for beginners.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi,
I just bought the S9000 prestige. I was wondering if it was useful to apply trimmer oil to the blades at a regular interval? After every shave? or after every thorough pull apart cleaning? or not at all.
Thanks,
Eric
Hi Eric,
It definitely can’t hurt, especially if you use the shaver with shaving cream or you clean it with water and soap. The way you use and clean your razor will actually determine how often you should lubricate it. I wrote a detailed guide on that topic here, I think you will find it useful.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi i just bye My sekund philips shaver the s9000 with out the iq pad can i bye it seperet and do it work with the shaver?
Hi Rudi,
No, the pad will not work with your shaver.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Great reviews.
You inspired me to buy the Braun 9 Series. And it’s awesome. What a difference 15 years makes — the last time I purchased an electric razor.
And out of curiosity, and a new-found enthusiasm for electric shaving, I purchased the Philips 9000 Prestige. Of course this review was part of my purchase decision.
Wow. Just wow. On my cheeks, it’s actually closer than a blade.
For my particular face, beard and style of shaving — I’ve found gold.
It would have never occurred to me that I’d have so much positive enthusiasm for a razor of any type.
Don’t care about the lack of cleaning station — that does not matter to me. I don’t particularly like the wireless charging pad and the space that it takes up. Don’t like the size of the whole kit for travel. For travel — it’s the Braun.
But for shaving —- it’s the greatest.
Thanks Ovidiu
That’s awesome, Michael. I’m glad you found the reviews helpful. Happy shaving!
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I just purchased the 9000 prestige. I had a Braun 9 ,however it was hard on my face.
I found the new Prestige is much gentler on my face.
My question
I have a cleaning station with my Braun and would like to get a cleaning station
for my Prestige . I read several comments that you can use the s9000 cleaning station
just for cleaning. Would it be worth buying an s9000 to use for cleaning my Prestige?
Thanks for your time.
Hi Howard,
You can actually use use the station of the S9000 (by using the head unit of your Prestige on the S9000 shaver). Whether it’s worth buying a different shaver & station just for that, it’s really up to you. In my opinion you should wait a bit more, a few weeks or a month during which you clean your Prestige manually. The decision should be easier after that.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I was using the Panasonic Arc5 for about a year.I found that even with a 3 day growth it struggled to shave some hairs and that the shaving head became really hot but got round that by doing my neck first.I decided to pass the Panasonic on to my grandson and buy the Philips S9000 Prestige.Best shave yet from an electric razor.Some may find that the wireless only charging a gimick but TBH I it charges up just fine and even in todays 100mph lifestyles and needing everything yesterday leaving the shaver on the charger is no big deal as it’s always ready.As to the shave I found it to be easy on my sensitive skin.No pulling or jerking hairs out by the roots.It shaved my 5 day old growth without a hitch and was extremely close and the biggest plus was the head did not heat up.Cleaning stations be damned! That’s just another bit of luggage as far as I am concerned as well as an added cost. Cleaning the 9000 prestige is simplicity itself by just running it under the hot water tap. However anyone who is having problems going from a foil to a rotary should note it requires a different method of shaving.With the rotary you should use small circular motions.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this shaver. Those are some excellent points.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I’m still using my Spectra 8894xl which is like 20 years old. I’ve replaced blades when recommended. It’s going strong and is the longest I ever had a razor for. Previous record was 12 years. Should I upgrade? Is it really that good that I would be blown away? I do notice lately that my shaves are not as close as I remember or maybe it’s just not getting all the longer hairs since I’m not shaving everyday.
20 years of constant use is really impressive. I think you should hold on to it, at least while it still provides a good shave. As I mentioned in the review, the Prestige was the best rotary I’ve used so far, but I never had the chance to try the 8894XL. So I’m afraid I cannot compare them directly. The closeness from a rotary shaver can be improved to a certain point, so in that regard I am not convinced that the Prestige will be a significant upgrade. It is a very comfortable shaver though, way ahead of all the rotary razors I’ve tried.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I just found your site, and it is the most impressive electric shaver resource I have ever seen! Congratulations on the great service you are providing to us.
I just wanted to counsel the prior poster that yes, he should absolutely hold onto his 8894 Spectra as long as possible. For many of us who have been shaving for 40 years or more, the 8894 represented “peak Norelco” in terms of build quality, comfort, heft, performance and longevity. I still have my own 20-year-old Spectra and it is one of my beloved possessions. I “upgraded” to a 9700 a couple of years ago and frankly I was quite disappointed in the build quality, comfort level and general shaving experience. So by all means I would encourage him to hold onto his special 8894, and enjoy it as long as he can.
Hi Gerard,
Many thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to share your experience. I totally agree with your assessment, the Spectra is truly an iconic rotary.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello Ovidiu!
Your site is super fantastic, really, really superb. Very detailed and informative regarding everything from the shaving results, to parts, and what may differ between the (sometimes) very confusing model numbers that most brands use, and that some newer parts/shaving heads may even work for an older model of the same razor, as with the Panasonics.
I found your site in early 2019, january I think, I was tired of my current Braun shaver for not shaving as close as I would have liked, and it also caused a bit of irritation and red skin after each shave, model in the mid-segment, can’t remember exact model. And I found your review and very detailed informative writing about the https://shavercheck.com/closest-shave-electric-razor/#1-Panasonic-Arc-5-ES-LV65-S to be very great, and it sounded really nice and something I wanted to test out. Especially as the price was not that high for a high-end model. (And something special about a product that says Made In Japan, and not Made In China, like literally evetything these days). And I also read on about Panasonic shavers, their history, their quality, which they are proud of. And should be proud of! So I bought it, and it did indeed shave better and closer than the Braun, but just like with the Braun, the areas where the neck and cheek meets in the jaw bone area, is a big problem, and my skin does protest during every shave and is left red and sometimes with small bleeding, it’s no biggie of any kind, it’s an area where everything I’ve used this far has problems, even if I stretch out my skin both upwards and downwards, it really doesn’t do much to help. And that I noticed early on with the Panna too, but as with all shavers, the skin usually takes a bit of getting used to a new shaver, but no improvement has happened unfortunately, the skin still takes a hard hit. BUT. I need to point of that it is NOT a bad shaver, it is my skin that is having problems with the shaver. But if your skin will have problem with shaver X or not is literally impossible to find out without spending money to buy it and try it out on your own skin. I would love to continue using the Panna, but i’ve decided I need to let it go and try something else. I first thought of trying the newer shaving heads (with the golden/yellow) that Panasonic released, but later came to the conclusion that it could be a waste of money, so i’m not going for that.
I think why my skin is having big issues could be because of the movement that one makes with the foil shavers, one kind of “rubs” it back and forth over the skin, and sometimes also pressing harder if one don’t think the shave is close enough, both of this probably has something to do with it. Just to test something new. In september 2019 I actually also bought: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merkur-Long-Handle-Safety-Razor/dp/B001NIYT1Y And some blades from Feather: https://www.amazon.com/Feather-Razor-Blades-Hi-stainless-Double/dp/B004RWTQTS (https://www.feather.co.jp/en/) Plus some foam of course. Standing infront of a mirror and shaving with one of these safety razors is a typical, slow sensual thing I really could like, if I only can get used to it, get the grip of how to do it quick and properly, and be done and finished in the same amount of time as with the electric shaver. I obviously couldn’t wait to try when the package came home, unfortunately it took close to 50min before i was done, and I was not happy with the results, for which I can’t blame the razor or blade, but myself and the learning curve. And that time is the only time I used the manual safety razor, after that I went back to the Panna. but incase I wanna try it again, I got all I need at home. A while after i bought it i tried to read and figure out what I did wrong, both when it comes to how long times it took and the rather bad shave results, I found this superb tutorial, one day I hope to be closer to what this man can achieve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps88RU_BXlA He managed to make 3 passes in around 15 minutes, I shaved one time in 50min, “practice makes perfect”, as they say.
BUT. Practicing and learning how to use my safety razor is more of a side-project for now. Fun owning one. But I of course I also need an electric shaver that I like, can count on, and just can go grab it when I need it, and that my skin also doesn’t have such big issues with. So, although not cheap, or even anywhere near the Panasonic price point, my eyes are now on the SP9820. For some reason, the prices feels way too high for what I probably think it’s worth, even if it is Philips absolute high-end model, and what I want to spend. (On the plus side, I noticed in one of your screen shots that is actually says “Made In The Netherlands!) But I need a new shaver, and since the movement with the rotary shavers are different from the foil ones, possibly also less pressure needed? this could be worth a shot, and the last chance for me to find something that I really like and enjoy using. With that said. One thing i always think about, no matter what electric battery powered product it is, is the ability to change out the battery when it literally is dead. Have you or someone else figured out if it is possible to officially or unofficially replace it, should that be needed several years down the road when the 2 year warranty probably has runned out anyway? It would feel like a terrible waste of money, and a fully functioning product, to just let it die if that wasn’t possible, but that the motor still works, new blades can be bought and changed, but non of that matters if the battery makes the whole product useless. I know that it will take a long time, but with a shaver in this price category, I needed to ask this question.
So far through the years i’ve used, low-end Braun, mid-segment Braun, high mid-segment Braun, and the latest is the Panasonic. Maybe this Philips will be next.
Again, many, many thanks for your excellent site, Ovidiu!
I forgot to mention. I really like and appreciate that you update the articles every now and then, when needed. But as a tip/suggestion, would it be possible if you not only at the top, but also in the article text itself writes e.g
“Updated: June 17, 2020: Added info that blah blah blah”
That would allow us to use our browsers search function to simply write “Updated: June 17” And we would be taken directly to the newly added/edited information, to find out what that is about.
This is not meant as criticism, just an idea. Thanks.
Hello Karl,
Many thanks for the kind words, suggestions and for taking the time to share your experience in such great detail. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your journey.
With the S9000 Prestige being a relatively new shaver, I’m afraid I don’t have any information right now regarding the possibility of replacing the battery. I’m sure it will pop up eventually, but my guess is that it will be sort of possible to do it. Maybe with some compromises, like the waterproofing, but fitting a compatible battery should be possible. Philips officially advises against doing so, but that’s obviously the case with all electric shavers.
Regarding the updates, that’s something I initially intended to do, but the thing is that the updates are so massive, with new information added continuously, that keeping a log of the changes will become a total mess that would actually be detrimental to the user experience. I do include the time when it’s relevant, for example when an updated model is released.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello Ovidiu,
Re: the updates: Ah, I see. Then I completely understand the situation regarding the updates from your side. Thanks for explaining.
Re: the battery. Yes exactly, that’s more or less what I thought. And the battery will most likely not run out before the 2 year warranty period ends, so if it “dies” after the warranty has ended, then it could be worth a shot trying to change it, unless it is very, very hard, especially since one probably end up damaging the waterproofing and maybe other important layers, if one wants to keep cleaning it under running water, then it’s probably a no go. And of course the battery might not come that cheap, they rarely do, so I would not be surprised if one actually can get a new shaver by buying one when it is on sale, with a (obviously) new battery and waterproofing intact….
…which is what I did 😛 I bought the Series 9000 S9711/31 the past Sunday before the sale ended on midnight. Package arrived today. This model was actually released in 2014 according to the Philips website. A bit surprised the suggested retail price is still around €450. Glad i got it for €200!
Cheers, Karl
Hi Karl thanks for your detail experience. I am really looking forward for your impression about the new Philips you bought.
I used Philips RQ1050 for 12 years. The battery yes still very good. I open it a few times and it is easy to replace the battery. But I read somewhere that for the new Philips models it is impossible because they have no screws. I would not worry about the battery they make good lasting razors.
I own for 2 weeks a Braun 5030s it was very irritating in the first week. It gave me redness on the neck that last 3+ days. I can feel that the head is heating after 1-2 min. My blades from Philips are very old and I can not say which one gives me a closer shave. There are some places where braun shaves very close and some places (on the neck and jaw) where it leaves hair ~ 1mm after 4-5 min of shaving a 2-3 day beard. With Philips I also struggle on the neck.
As I was not convinced by Braun I am also thinking to buy a Philips 9000 series or even 7000 series and add the heads from Prestige. I can buy Philips directly from their employee shop Series 7000 75-100Euro, series 9000 100-150 Euro, But the Prestige is expensive 220-400Euro. Prices without cleaning stations.
Thanks Ovidiu for all your work, I relay like the comments section.
Hi Bogdan,
Thank you so much, glad you the site useful. It sounds like you’re not having an easy time with the 5030s which is in fact a very decent shaver. I also have sensitive skin and the Series 5 was always comfortable enough for me to shave dry. So perhaps the transition from your rotary RQ1050 to a foil shaver is maybe causing these problems. The neck and jawline in particular are always difficult to shave, but you should not be left with patches of 1mm long hair. Make sure you use straight, short strokes, always going against the grain.
The Series 5 head normally doesn’t get too hot, but if you have that issue, apply a drop of light oil on each foil before shaving. You can use sewing machine oil or clipper oil.
But then again, some of us simply get along better with rotary razors no matter what, so that may be the case here.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Bogdan,
Thank you! Great comment with valuable information from your side too.
Will keep you and other readers posted how it goes with my Philips. Hope you do that too, should you end up buying a Philips from that employee shop. 🙂 One difference between the 7000 and 9000 series is that the 9000 series has a little bit higher capacity battery, one full charge last 60min, while the 7000 series last 50min. The battery capacity was one of the reasons why I wanted one from the 9000 series.
Yes. That is a “trend” with most portable electronics these days. The “repairability” it only getting worse and worse, seen from the consumers perspectice. Old(er) thicker mobile phones and notebook computers, they always had screws, great for changing the battery in the phone, a dead harddrive/ssd in the computer or whatever. But since the industry moved to keep everything as lightweighted and streamlined as possible, that has all changed over the past 15yrs. Seems the shavers are moving in on the same trend. But then again, the batteries has also improved a lot, so the shavers should be able to last as long as the machine itself, or close to it, with a bit of luck.
Now that you mentioned it. Yes, the latest Braun i had, the foil on the head did get a little warm, not hot, after a few minutes of usage. That was one differens that I noticed right away when i started to use my Panasonic, it stays cool through the whole shave of 10-15min, I shave every 3-5 days usually. Not something that bothered me with the Braun, but worth noting it.
P.S
Wow. The Philips RQ1050 looks like a great shaver indeed. The shaver body and head design is also very similar to the current product line-up from Philips, except from the lower series. Seems like not only you liked that model. Below, a norwegian customer made a short consumer review of the RQ1050 in 2017:
“The best machine I’ve had – from the 1960s to 2017!
I’ve had the machine for a few years now, and am about to change the cutting heads once again. Still, the machine is top in terms of battery life and charging time. It is very user-friendly and can handle all the tasks you can reasonably give a shaver. The hair trimmer is even usable for cutting hair in the ears! Over the years I have had several machines. From my first Philips in the 1960s onwards. I’ve had Wilfa and Braun, but keep coming back to Philips. My RQ 1050/16 is the best machine I’ve had, and I really don’t understand how it could have been made better!”
Thanks Ovidiu for your advices. You are right after the first week the redness and irritation from Braun was similar with the ones from Philips. Until now I shaved every 2-3 days with braun. Today I shaved after 1 day and I insisted a lot on the neck and I could remove most of the remaining from yesterday (1mm batches). But there where some batches (4-5cm under the chin) that I could not remove it they are less than 1mm, you can feel them when you go with you hand over it. I could easily remove them with my old philips. But there are places where I need to insist a lot with philips and the end result is not very close, but with Braun I only need a few tries and the skin is soft after. I consider them very similar and I am happy with braun series 5 considering the low price I paid for it it. Regarding the heat the head is just warm not hot, I can definitely feel it on my face, but not something to bother.
One more thing I notices with 5030s is that with beard of 3 days it is a little bit bitting sometimes, I thing it plucks the hair instead of cutting.
You are very welcome, Bogdan.
That can happen with longer hairs, try to reduce the speed of the stroke and it should be a lot less likely to yank the hairs. Regarding the areas under the chin with short stubble (under 1mm), the long, straight edge of the foils may not come in contact optimally with the skin, so the short hairs won’t poke through the foils and get cut. For example, Panasonic shavers have a curved profile of the foils and they’re usually better at shaving the stubble right under the chin. Try to adjust the position of the shaving head, maybe tilting it or using just half of its surface so it stays flat and perpendicular to that area under the chin. Hope this makes sense.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Update 1 – Philips Series 9000 S9711/31
Two days ago I had my last shave with my Panasonic ES-LV65. And today was my very first use of the Series 9000 S9711/31 with the standard SH90 shaving head that comes with it. The shaving results are in my opinion very, very comparable to the performance of the Panasonic. It took around 10min longer until i was done, mainly because it took several more passes over the same area before I was satisfied enough. One thing that did maybe not work out as good as I had hoped was, we are supposed to make “circular movements”, but it did not glide as easy over my skin as I was hoping. In fact, no “glide” at all. I do have a rather “greasy” type of skin. But ever since I started shaving I have always used some paper to dry my skin off so no unnecessary amounts of “grease” ends up on/inside the shaver head, which only helps the beard get stuck easier and cleaning under running water much harder, which has been no problem for any of my previous foil shavers Braun/Panasonic, both glides over my skin without problems. Next time I will not wipe my face with some paper before, and maybe the “grease” will make it glide easier. not something I really want to do, but worth a try. If that does not help, then the up-coming switch of shaver heads from SH90 to SH98 might make some difference, considering the SH98 are supposed to have “anti-friction coating” to help with that, if it actually makes any difference in the real world or if all of it is marketing talk remains to be seen, and if that coating really makes any difference what so ever, then I am a perfect test pilot to find that out, since there’s indeed friction with the SH90. I obviously hope the shaving results improves a little with the SH98 as well, not only that the friction situation improves.
One positive thing worth noting with the Philips, is that my skin, despite many more passes than the Panasonic, “survived” much better with the rotary Philips than the foil Panasonic, less redness and irritation, that is a big personal plus for me and one of the reasons why i wanted to try a rotary shaver.
And finally one last thing, since one cannot share too much detail about our beloved shavers on this blog ;), I can also mention the noise level, I expected a difference, but not THAT big of a difference, the Philips is probably 70% more quiet than the Panasonic. This is not something that I take into consideration when buying a shaver at all, (of course I do not complain, the more silent a shaver is the better 🙂 ), but others may find the noise level very important.
Next update will probably be after I change out SH90 to SH98, and about what/if any difference SH98 deliver. Not sure exactly when, but I guess in a month or so. Trying to find SH98 on sale locally, but I doubt I will be that lucky.
Hey Karl,
Many thanks for the detailed update. It’s always interesting for me to see a user’s reaction when switching from a good foil razor to a good rotary. From what I can tell, you will get along extremely well with the latter as well.
I also have a problem with the shaver not gliding as easy on the face, including the Prestige. That’s almost never a problem with foil shavers since only the smooth metal of the foils come in contact with the skin.
In my case using a pre-shave lotion did help with making rotary razors glide easy.
I imagine that the (lack of) noise was quite surprising coming from an Arc 5. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidu
Final comment from me! No future Philips updates will be posted!
I have been using SP9820 for 3 weeks.
Pros:
– the most comfortable shave I ever had if I shave every 2 days. Almost no redness.
– it takes around 2-2:30 min
– the most uniform shave. With the Braun and the old Philips I need good light and I need to examine the result and to insist on some areas quite a lot.
– on the neck in the same areas where braun struggles and I need to insist a lot with philips works faster with only a few tries and in this area (only) is closer than braun.
– very silent compared with braun and old philips
– very few cut hair goes outside (with 2 days beard almost no hair goes out) compared with braun where I see quite a lot in the sink. You can use it everywhere not just over the sink.
Cons:
– I tried only once to shave after 1 day and it was irritating with lots of redness on the neck. It could be, maybe, that my face was not getting use with the new razor, it was the third or the fifth time.
– with beard older than 4-5 days is a little bit biting, it plucks some hair instead of cutting. But it works quite good without irritation.
– on the jaw with braun it is very soft, but with Philips you can feel the hair if you go against the growing direction.
– I use the braun series 5 right after philips and I could see it manage to remove some hair (on the jaw) that philips couldn’t.
– I had the same experience as Karl mentioned regarding gliding, and I have a dry/normal skin. I want to try Speick presahve to see if this will help with closeness.
– maybe it is just my device, but in the first second when I press the button it makes a strange noise like it force the motor to start, but after this it is smooth and very silent.
Considering the big price difference between the SP9820 and the Braun Series 5, I can say that I would not buy SP9820 again. If there wasn’t for those 2 small areas(~4 square cm) on my neck I could say that Braun is way closer than SP9820 and I would prefer it anytime against SP9820. Now I am curios to try some other foil razor, because If I find one that is able to work good on my neck that will be the best for me. As Series 7 is similar with 5 I think that this will work the same, maybe Series 9 will work better but I don’t like that is harder to wash manually. I would like to try a Panasonic razor to see the difference.
Many thanks for the detailed follow-up, Bogdan.
Shaving the jawline with a rotary razor is always tricky, so it’s not surprising that your Series 5 is better in that regard. Also, try to use slower strokes when shaving a longer bead, I find that doing so reduces the chances of the hairs getting plucked.
Regarding the strange noise it makes right when you start the shaver, that’s actually very common among the Prestige range. I think the motor has quite a lot of torque and as soon as the blades start turning at full speed, it makes that squeaking sound. But there’s nothing to worry about.
I think you should definitely give the Speick pre-shave a try, it will likely help with the gliding issue.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Follow up question. Do you know if the motor in the 9000 prestige is a new one compared to the series 9000? Or are there any major difference apart from the new shaver head?
I ask since this model: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/S9711_31/shaver-series-9000-wet-and-dry-electric-shaver
…Is on sale in my country, the sale ends today though! And it is a whole 50% cheaper than the prestige 9000. 200 euro compared to the prestige 400 euro.
And according to some answers here, the new SH98 should fit on for example S9711, and other models too: https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx1KEASPUOHAJ24
Scroll down see “customer answers and questions”: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SH98-70-Razor-Prestige/dp/B07FSK3Z6J
So IF the motor is the same, and the shaver heads from the prestige can fit, if I want to try them out, I really find it hard to spend a whole 50% more just to get the aluminum shaver body with the prestige, if pretty much all else that I care about is the same. But that I do not know for sure, trying to find out. Yes, the S9711 comes with a cleaning station and all other, for me, unnecessary gadget stuff. But cleaning station comes with it so I can’t do much about that. What do you think, Ovidiu?
Update: I have found so many examples from people buying and attaching the new SH98 to their series 5000 and 9000 that it seems to work without any problem what so ever. Similar situation to that of the Panasonics one can say. I guess Philips didn’t count on that people should try this, but as customers we should only say thanks and it’s great that this is possible, better than the alternative of not being able to do this, and that they haven’t locked a certain shaver head to a certain shaver model or series line-up.
I will post an update on what I finally decided to go with, still thinking…
Philips hasn’t released the specs for the motors, however, if they’re not the same, then they’re definitely similar. As I mentioned in the review, the shaving head is what ultimately makes the difference between the regular S9000 and the Prestige. And yes, the shaving unit can definitely be fitted to the Series 9000. If you can get both for a great price, that could be a great alternative. You’ll be getting the station as well, even though you may not use it at all.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Re: Motor. Yes, that’s what I have found too, absolutely no information anywhere regarding the motor, if it is new, same or whatever. But heck, if it works great, then I am happy.
Yes. And if one looks at it like that, the price of the Prestige seems quite over the top, paying that price for an, although beautiful and high-end feel, aluminum body, seems a bit steep, i hope they reconsider the price point for their next Prestige release. But regarding the shaving heads model compatibility, I must say that this is rather “customer friendly”, or how we should put it. Not sure if Philips and/or Panasonic actually thinks about it, that some customers takes advantage of this and simply “upgrades” their still fully functioning shavers (battery, motor) by buying the newer shaving heads released with/for the latest model, and putting it on their older model, or maybe even two generation old shavers. I at least hope they don’t see this as a money loss from their part, as they would make more money forcing customers buing the “latest and greatest” by locking the shaver head compatibility to a particular model, but this helps their customers save money, stay happy, and probably higher chance they come back as a customer in the future and buy another shaver, like when the battery is completely dead, like we discussed above, the waterproofing surely is hard to get around, then one is better of buying a new shaver with a new battery, not that I use my shaver in the shower even if I could do that, but just cleaning it under running water without an intact waterproofing will probably end up damaging the new battery and other essential electornic parts. So i probably skip that “smart” idea that I came up with, it was smart until you reminded me about the waterproofing 😛
Re: new shaving head. Yeah, that seems to be a little harder, concerning the price. The best price on the SH98 locally is around €90. But I thought that I will probably use the heads (if I like them) that come with the 9711, for the 2 years they are supposed to last, and when it’s time to change them out, I go with the SH98, unless I spot SH98 on sale at some point earlier.
Re: the cleaning station. Yes, i guess that was one “bonus” for me, even without the station I would still have bought it for the €200 sales prices. But on a second thought I thought I might as well use to see if i like it, at least until the catridge is empy and needs to be changed.
One thing that I am still trying to figure out is what the difference is between SH98/80 and SH98/70. I am reading, reading and reading, but still haven’t found the answer. The important thing is that I buy the one with the WHOLE shaving head included, not the package with 3 separate razor heads.
For example. The UK site seems to only have the SH98/80 on their site
https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH98_80/shaver-s9000-prestige-shaving-heads
While the swedish site seems to have the SH98/70
https://www.philips.se/c-p/SH98_70/shaver-s9000-prestige-rakhuvuden
And SH98/80
https://www.philips.se/c-p/SH98_80/shaver-s9000-prestige-rakhuvuden
While the US site show no parts at all, except for the “precision trimmer”.
https://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/SP9820_87/shaver-s9000-prestige-ultimate-closeness-and-comfort/partsandaccessories
I think SH98/70 is the one I want based on what i have found so far, but still not sure. Hmm.
Cheers, Karl
Hi Karl,
The only difference between the SH98/80 and the SH98/70 is the color. The latter has dark grey color and comes standard on the Chrome Prestige model (SP9860/86). It’s also listed on the Philips UK website here: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH98_70/shaver-s9000-prestige-shaving-heads
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello Ovidiu,
Oh right, that was a simple answer. Many, many thanks for helping me/us clearing out the difference between the SH98/70 – SH98/80. Then (if I order online) I don’t have to worry about sending the shaving head back because it didn’t fit correctly. Great!
Cheers, Karl
excellent review Ovidiu!
thank you!
I rarely saw such a thorough review that touch all aspects of a product. You succeed in presenting the shaver from all angles.
I’m in Philips 9000 series for years, and indeed the new SH98 shaving head makes the difference.
@Karl – I have SH98 now fitted on my old 9031 and works like a charm!
the sound (and the speed) of my old 9031 match the medium set on the new prestige.
have a good one!
robert
Thank you so much, Robert, glad you found the review useful. Happy shaving!
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
Fantastic review, really helped me lots!!!
Availability wise, I only have Prestige SP9820/12 available. As this specific model is not listed the “Models List” included in your review, I would like just to make sure this model is also the same shaving machine as the models you mention in your review here, model SP9820 that is …
Or, in other words, I want to make sure that this model also included in your phrase: “in terms of shaving performance, all the shavers are absolutely identical”…
Thank you Ovidiu,
Tal
Hi Tal,
Thank you for your comment, much appreciated.
It’s definitely included. At the time of writing, I don’t think the SP9820/12 was available. But you can rest assured it’s identical performance-wise to the ones mentioned in the review.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Reading your posts it appears that the new head fits the 9000 series shavers. Do you know if it also fits the 8000 series? I have the RQ12 Sensotouch 3D model. The razor still works but is in need of a new head. I have never been happy with the shave o& the RQ12 head so if it doesn’t I guess I am looking for a new razor.
I currently have a Braun series 9 too but it seems to take forever to get a good shave. It seems to me my very old Philips rotary shaver gave me the fastest shave( but also razor burn).
Could it be that now that my coarse hair has turned grey that it is just tougher to cut?
Thought I would mention that my face is angular and I find the rotary razors seem to work better than foil razors.
Enjoying your impartial outlook…
Hi Larry,
I’m afraid I cannot answer that as I don’t own a Series 8000 anymore.
Grey hairs aren’t necessarily tougher to cut, I think the cause is most likely related to the shaver you’re using or the wear of the blades.
Rotary razors can work a lot better for someone with prominent facial features.
I’ll try to find out if the Prestige head will fit the old Series 8000 and I’ll reply again to this comment if I come across anything.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Fantastic review thank you. Helped me to decide and I bought the 9000 prestige. I love it, first great shaver I’ve ever bought.
I bought the shaver guard cleaning spray.
I dry shave and it seems to go well for me.
Would you recommend though a pre shave lotion?
Do any products make it easier or better?
Is there much trade off with gunking up the shave heads?
At the moment, I blow them clean and spray the guard stuff, run the heads for a few seconds, done. Monthly maybe a disassemble clean.
Kind regards DavidR
Hi David,
Many thanks for your comment and kind words, glad you found the review useful and you’re enjoying your Prestige.
I would actually recommend a pre-shave lotion, I personally use one almost every time I shave dry. My favorite is the Speick Pre-Electric Shave lotion. It takes seconds to apply, it dries immediately and I always get a closer, more comfortable, and faster shave.
Since it’s an alcohol-based solution, it never gunks up my razors (it dries really fast once you apply it to the face, so there’s really no residue left). You should be perfectly fine continuing with your current cleaning routine.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi there!
Thank you for an amazingly detailed review.
I’m really deliberating about whether to get this or a S9031 for half the price.
How big is the actual shaving experience difference?
What are the advantages apart from the display?
Cheers!
Hi Joe,
Many thanks for your comment.
Getting the S9031 for half the money sounds very appealing. In my opinion the biggest difference is in comfort — I have very sensitive skin and never got along with any rotary shavers. The Prestige was the first that was actually good in that regard. But again, I am in the minority here as other users don’t have to deal with this. The build quality is also nicer, the aluminum body of the Prestige looking and feeling very premium. But that’s pretty much it. If you’ve used other less capable rotary razors before and never had major issues, I think you should go with the S9031.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi,
You did a great job with this review !! Thank you so much for putting the time and effort in it, For the benefit of us all !
I wonder if the the travel case that comes with the 9820 model is smaller then the one which come with the 9860 (or with any other wireless charging model equipped the QI charger).
I didn’t find any reference to this.
Thank you.
Hi,
Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated.
I haven’t got the 9860, but I am pretty sure that the case that comes with it or with the other wireless models is (significantly) larger in order to accommodate both the shaver and the charging pad. For reference, here is the inside of my 9820 case and here is the one of a QI model.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
It sure looks much bigger.
Thanks a lot Ovidiu.
Eyal
Hello,
I recently purchase the Philips Norelco S9000 Prestige (SP9860/86) and it feels like the body is made out of plastic. Perhaps they’ve changed the design since this review was published?
Thanks,
Hien
Hello Hien,
I haven’t seen the SP9860 model up close nor did I held it in hand, unfortunately. The only reason why it would be different compared to my unit is the wireless charging technology (it doesn’t work through metal). But even so, the back side with the black plastic/rubber area should be enough for the charging to work. I will try to find out more and I’ll reply when I have any updates.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Great insights, thanks! I am looking to purchase my first electric shaver after using standard razors for 25 years. I tend to shave every few days (sometimes longer) and therefor also no overly focused on having a super close shave, have sensitive skin, and hate dealing with maintenance of anything (buy fake plants because I cannot be trusted to water real plants). Based on your original article and many of the comments, it seems I should be looking at either the braun 9 series, the series 9000 or the s9000 prestige…any final advice or recommendation you could make? Thanks!
Hi Josh,
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated.
Those models would be among the best options in this case. But do consider that the S9000 (not the Prestige) can be a bit too aggressive if you have sensitive skin, at least that was my experience with it. This leaves us with the Series 9 and the S9000 Prestige. The former is more comfortable and shaves closer, while the latter can have an advantage when shaving a longer beard. The Series 9 should handle a 3 or 4 days beard without any issues, while you could stretch that a bit more with the Prestige. It also depends on how fast your beard grows, so do take these numbers as general guidelines.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello, great review! I have some questions though.
Will putting the sh98 on a 7000 work and will it give me a closer shave? The blade on the 7000 don’t seem to get close enough in fact I think I get a better shave off the at89 it replaced.
Thanks
Hello Andrew,
Thank you for your comment, much appreciated. I don’t currently have a Series 7000 so I can try it myself, but it will most likely fit. I think you should also get a closer shave by upgrading the heads, although the Prestige likely has a different, more powerful motor.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have the 9860 and the 9820, and I can confirm they both have metal cases. The only real difference is the color of the heads (silver in the case of the 9820, dark grey for the 9860), and the lack of a visible charging port in the 9860. I say “lack of a visible charging port” because there actually is one – hidden underneath the small slotted cover plate at the bottom of the shaver. It’s the standard Philips port, and I can only verify that it’s there, not that it works because I haven’t actually used it for charging. Both great rotaries as you point out in your review, and for me at least, the top Philips models to date.
Hi Allan,
Thank you for clarifying that — much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
IMO all rechargeable shavers and body groomers should have replaceable batteries or use a battery technology with a much longer life expectancy. I do note that eBay and Amazon do list replacement solder tabbed batteries for some shavers, including Philips Norelco. Planned obsolescence sucks. I did just buy a Norelco rechargeable Rotatract HP1318, used on eBay, and it still takes a charge and runs for about 50 minutes. Uses Ni-Cad batteries which seem to have good life if fully discharged before recharging. This is a 40 year old razor that shows minimal use. Current HQ56 heads fit and work fine.
On the Philips Norelco SP9820/87 Shaver 9000 Prestige, what is the weight of the shaver when ready to shave? You do not list weight, ready to use, in most of your shaver tests.
The weight of the shaver alone is 189 grams according to my kitchen scale.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I recently bought the SP9820 Prestige from Amazon USA. Philips best looking shaver but for the price it should include a charging stand and possibly a cleaning unit. Even the sideburns trimmer they include is the cheaper version. It does not even include a head cover or cleaning brush for the interior of the shaving head! Seems like Philips is cheapening out on us.
I am a retired quality assurance engineer so tend to test items I buy. I have checked other Philips Norelco shavers and found the run times to be pretty much as listed in the documentation. The SP9820 Prestige is the exception. I fully charged it and a S9721 and ran both continuously and simultaneously on the high speed mode. The S9721 ran about a minute longer than the hour that the manual said while the Prestige, which lists run time as an hour, ran for an hour and 40 minutes, which is MUCH longer than expected. No known explanation but that was my timed results, done with a digital timer set to time up from zero mode and roughly compared to a wall clock also in the testing room.
I totally agree with you regarding the overall value for money of the product. Interestingly, while I don’t track the run time as thoroughly as you did, have also found Philips shavers to exceed the official numbers (not by that margin though). Braun is also pretty good in that regard, while Panasonic usually can’t match the claimed battery life.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have an older Norelco 9721 shaver with the SH90 heads. There is no way I would pony up for the newer Prestige since the handle on my 9721 is just fine. However, I’ve wondered whether the newer head might provide a closer shave. I’m not disappointed in the shave provided by the SH90 but am simply curious. Thanks.
Addendum: I wanted to edit my post above. I am assuming the heads on the newer Prestige can be mounted onto the older 9721.
Hi Wayne,
Yes, they will fit, although it is a somewhat tighter squeeze. In my case the SH98 heads did provide a closer shave, but mainly because they seemed significantly more comfortable than the ones on my 9300 and allowed me to be more thorough until I got the desired results.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks, Ovidiu. At approximately $65 US it’s a bit of a stretch to replace the SH90 for a closer shave. I guess close is close in the sense that the shave I currently receive from the older 9721 is already a good one. It didn’t sound like the shave you receive with the newer SH98 heads was significantly improved. Besides, most of my shaving is done with my two foil shavers (Arc 5 and the Series 7 Braun older model) so it would be simply for curiosity sake. I enjoy reading your reviews and appreciate your readiness to indulge us and answer our questions.
You are very welcome, Wayne, I’m glad you found the site useful. I think that’s the right call, especially since you already have two very capable foil shavers.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello,
Thanks. Your site has really helped me choose a shaver for my husband. Could you tell me the difference between the Model SP9860/86 and the SP9820/87? They are both advertised as Prestige.
Hi,
Thank you for your comment. That is correct, both are part of the Prestige series. The difference is that the SP9860/86 comes with the wireless charging pad and can only be charged that way, while the other one uses a conventional charger (like the one I reviewed).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi!
Thanks for your site.
Can i use S98 shaving head with s9031 shaver?
Thanks again
Hi Farhad,
Yes, they will fit the S9031. Ideally, you use the whole Prestige shaving unit that snaps into the shaver’s body, but the cutters themselves will also fit, even though not quite perfectly (a bit of a tight squeeze).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
What is the difference between the sh98/72 heads and the sh98/80 heads both of which are sold on Amazon but run $5 difference in price?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2LDVCM/?coliid=I3KR43BQAJ912B&colid=T5JBKGCQ3D40&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K2SVHG7/?coliid=I3I12LM1X7542S&colid=T5JBKGCQ3D40&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
The difference is the color (dark grey and silver, respectively).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
At the suggestion of my dermatologist, and after reading your review, I will be exploring the Norelco Prestige.
I decided to go the Wireless route. I hope that cleaning will not pose too much of an issue for me. I can now see. firsthand, how both the Braun and Norelco compare.
Bestbuy offered a good price, so the price differential between wireless and wired was reduced.
I believe Norelco offers a money back satisfaction policy, so I have nothing to lose. I will keep my Braun Series 9 as well.
Thanks for your support.
The dermatologist is encouraging me to save less frequently, which might favor the Prestige. Also it might be easier to follow the contour of my face.
I wonder if there is an adjustment moving from a foil to rotary?
Hi Jay,
In this case the adjustment has more to do with your technique and learning how to use a different type of shaver in order to get the best results. I think foil shavers are easier to use and the safer choice in most cases, but some users just get better results with rotaries. Hope you’ll like the Prestige. Take your time, especially at the very beginning and use very light pressure.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
Which pre-shave have you found to work well with the Prestige? I have used Labseries, but I am open to consider better, if there is one.
Thanks
Jay
No problem, Jay. My favorites are the ones from Speick and Tabac, I just find them to be the most effective regardless of the shaver I’m using. Many users prefer the Lectric Shave lotion, I am personally not a fan as it’s very oily and the scent is not really appealing. But that’s just a personal preference as many swear by it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
I have a few questions.
I have the Q1 version. When I replace the head, only the silver is available and not the darker grey. Does it matter?
I have the Q1 pad on the sink. So the shaver recharges after each shave. Does this matter in terms of battery life?
I cannot handle the suggested deep cleaning. I can do the suggested daily cleaning without issue. Will this require more frequent replacement of the shaver head?
Otherwise, the shaver is giving me a better shave than my previous Braun. My skin is adjusting, but I expected that.
Thanks
Would I be better off charging less frequently? If so, I could move the charger.
Does the head position matter? (Two in the back and one in the front versus one in the back and two in the front).
Hi Jay,
The color of the head is merely personal preference, the performance will be the same.
With modern batteries you can charge them how often you want, it will not accelerate the wear. However, it is recommended to only charge it up to around 80-90% in order to get the most out of it in the long run. You shouldn’t stress too much about it though. Btw, that’s the case with any rechargeable batteries, including the ones in mobile phones and so on, not just electric shavers.
Regarding the deep cleaning, that can be necessary when dirt and fine hairs accumulate behind the rotary blade and it can actually cause performance issues. Just don’t wait until it gets to that point (it usually takes months of use).
To me the head position doesn’t seem to make a difference, but if for some reason you prefer one vs the other position, go for it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
I ordered the Speick. I am a bit nervous about a glass bottle, but I should do fine.
Jay
Ovidiu
Comparing the Prestige to the Braun series 9, I can only conclude there is no perfect shaver. The Prestige handles the jaw line and neck easier. The area above the lip, not so well.
The Braun shaves ever so slightly closer, but yet there were patches it never captured and I was left with bling hairs.
Overall, I prefer the Prestige. I am leaning there is no one shaver that does everything.
I meant long hairs. Sorry
Thanks for the feedback, Jay. I totally agree, there’s no perfect shaver, you just have to use the one that makes more sense for what you need. By the way, the upper lip area is always a problem for any rotary shaver. A foil head is just a lot more effective and easier to use below the nose.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
Would you suggest using a pre-shave with the Prestige?
I think anyone that shaves dry — again regardless of the shaver — should at least try one. To some users it makes a huge difference, so in my opinion it’s worth a shot.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I tried the Speick. The fragrance is not for me. Even after rinsing the Prestige, the shaver retains the fragrance. My face retains the fragrance for hours.
It does glide easier. I will say that. Gives a slightly closer shave, but by no means a game changing event.
Would you suggest trying the Lab Series, which is fragrance free?
After more than a week. I continue to prefer the Prestige.
Jay
Hi Jay,
I’m sorry the fragrance was a deal-breaker. It is however less polarizing than other popular pre-shaves like the Lectric Shave. I don’t love it, I guess I just got used to it.
The Lab Series does actually have a fragrance despite being marketed as fragrance-free. It is however mild and inoffensive. I personally don’t like the performance of the Lab Series pre-shave — it’s too oily and not as effective as the other two I use on a regular basis (Speick and Tabac). Some men love it, but in my case it just didn’t work very well.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
As you, I don’t like the oily nature of the lab series. Maybe the Speick will grow on me? Otherwise it did a fine job.
Will the Speick damage the shaver?
Jay
That’s difficult to say as the fragrance is more like a personal preference. I still can’t say that I like it but it doesn’t bother me anymore. The pre-shave dries really quickly once you apply it, so there’ll be minimal to no traces of product on the shaving heads. And even so, it will not damage or clog them, so it’s perfectly safe.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
After using the Speick for a few days, I decided the product was not for me. The scent lingered on my hands, past the day of use, into the next morning. The Lab Series was too oily. Dry seems to be better for me. On humid days, the Prestige drags a bit, but there is no perfect shaver for all conditions.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Prestige. Thanks for your support and great product review.
As a post shave, I am now using the Art of Shaving Balm.
No problem, Jay, I’m glad if I was able to help. Always stick to what works best for you, in this case no pre-shave.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Interesting that you say rotary shavers are not as good as the coil ones.
My hair grows fast; I have a bad shave with rotary shavers and the worst shave with coil ones.
I have the Braun series 7 and the Norelco 5000.
I wonder if I can somehow insert the top part of the new prestige into my 5000 shavers.
( either just the blades or the entire top replacement part)The only thing that appeals to me is the blade, not the shaver.
Shame that all newer models have the top part that tilts to the side. I like the old style better as it seems more sturdy.
The whole shaving unit should fit a Series 5000 (I haven’t tried it personally, only with the regular Series 9000 and 8000). As for foil vs rotary, the former is generally a safer choice for most users. However, there are others that simply get better results when using rotaries.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I am continuing to like the Norelco Prestige. Giving me a closer shave than my previous foil choices. Less irritating which is a surprise. I shave dry without a pre-shave. My dermatologist discourages alcohol based core-shaved.
However I find that no matter what post shave I try, it inhibits the saver to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the product.
Any suggestions or should I just dispense with the lotions (pre and post shave). Without any lotions, seems to yield the closest shave, which surprises me.
However
Hi Jay,
Thanks for the update, seems like you really found a winner.
If the use of any preshave products affects the quality of the shave in a negative way — normally you should see an improvement — I think you should just shave without any. I didn’t quite understand how an aftershave affects the shave though, maybe your dermatologist can suggest a few options that will get along well with your skin?
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
How important is it to do the thorough cleaning of the shaver head of the Prestige, where you take apart the rings?
I don’t have the ability to do that. Instead, I rinse the shaver under water, while it is on. I also take the shave head top part off (the part with the three rings) and rinse that under water as well.
I would hate to give up the shaver as it performs very well. Can I still use the shaver?
Ovidiou
I contacted Phillips customer support. They indicated I am fine with what I am doing.
Ovidiou
Phillips suggests changing the shaver head every 12 months for the Prestige. If I shave daily, is that still 12 months?
Hi Jay,
The way manufacturers come up with these intervals doesn’t always make sense. For example, a shaving session during their tests lasts 3 minutes and that’s not always the case in real life. And as you’ve said, the frequency of shaving, along with other factors like the coarseness of the hair and how well you take care of the shaver will matter as well. Then again, rotary cutters and combs tend to last longer compared to foils and blades because they’re a lot thicker and the blades rotate at a much slower speed. So it will be impossible to say how long you should expect the heads to last.
You should however change them when you will notice a performance drop (that remains consistent even if the shaver is properly cleaned, charged, lubricated, etc.): the closeness isn’t as good anymore, it takes more time to complete a shave, some hairs are getting snagged, the heads become hot and so on.
Regarding the thorough cleaning, Philips themselves recommend it in the user manual. You could get away with doing it less often (like every few months) or not at all. The amount of dirt, grime and skin oils that may accumulate inside varies among different users. The quick cleaning routine you’ve mentioned will also matter (some users don’t clean their shavers at all). I personally still think it’s a good idea to do it at least every few months.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiou
My vision and coordination make the thorough cleaning impossible. I can only do the best I can.
The head does get slightly warm toward the end of the shave. Is that to be expected?
That’s ok, don’t stress too much about it. The head getting slightly warm is perfectly normal.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks. I get a better and more comfortable shave from this shaver then my previous foil shavers. That surprises me.
Thanks Ovidiu,
have you already tested & compared the new Philips S9987-55 ?
I know that you have already provided the report for new Philips series 7 (S7782/85 with Bluetooth) which you were also not satisfied with single blade formation but what about this series 9+BT (Philips S9987-55) ?
TNX.
Ali
Hi Ali,
I have not, but I did buy the SH91 heads of the new Series 9000 and tried them on the Series 7000. They fit perfectly and shave a bit better than the single-track ones that come with the shaver: slightly closer, the comfort is just as good and the overall shave took less time. The results could be even better if the Series 9000 is fitted with a more powerful motor or the shaving sensor is better calibrated. Again, I cannot say anything with certainty since I haven’t tried it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu,
I am also interested in a review of the new Philips S9987-55. Are you going to post your opinions soon ?
Hi Armando,
I will definitely be getting it, but I don’t know exactly when. I still have a few reviews in the making, but I will eventually get a Series 9000 as well.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
So do the blades from the Prestige fit an angular-head 9000 series? I have a 9500 (9985/84) and I’m hoping for a closer shave.
Part of my problem is knowing what heads I have in my shaver. Documentation says SH90 but it says replace with SH91.
Yes, the SH98 Prestige heads will fit the angular Series 9000 (and also the angular Series 7000, for that matter). Your shaver comes with the SH91 heads (which in my opinion are very similar to the Prestige ones performance-wise). So either the SH91 or the SH98 would be really good options when it’s time to change them.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
My Prestige is strange today. After I shaved and placed the shaver on the charger, all the symbols flashed for a second, including a red alert next to the faucet symbol. They go away and the shaver charges as always.
The manual talks about the red alert, indicating a damaged head which means the motor won’t turn. The red alert, according to the manual is supposed to remain on until you replace the head as the shaver is not supposed to start.
That is not the case here, the symbols go off in a second and the shaver charges and runs.
Tech support did not have an answer when I called. They mentioned about a metal object being on the charger. Not so.
This has never happened before. Putting on a new shaver head did nothing to change things. Any idea?
Jay
Hi Jay,
So this happens only when you place the shaver on the pad? All symbols just flash for a second and everything else works normally? Does it happen every time? I think the alert symbol just turns on with the rest, I wouldn’t worry about it in particular. From what I know, it turns on when the friction between the blade and comb is so high (usually because one or both parts are damaged/warped) that the motor can’t turn the blade anymore. That’s obviously not the case here.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
All the symbols flash on and then immediately turn off as soon as I put it on the charger. It seems to shave without an issue. The shaver now has a new shaving head. Based on what you suggest, unless it stops shaving, it seems I will be fine.
Thanks.
Thanks
No issues with shave quality.
Reference the replacement shaving head, SH98.
On US Amazon, there is conflicting information on what the second number means.
SH98/72, SH98/80, SH98/82…
There is info indicating that the second number is either…
–Update numbers. So higher is better
–Place of Manufacture
–Color
I can’t seem to find the answer.
Do you know Ovidiu (or anybody)?
Thanks
Hi Michael,
As far as I know, the color is indeed the only difference between them. So no performance bump for the ones with a higher second number.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
When I clean the Prestige, I remove the head, rinse the shaver under the tap, rinse the head under the tap and then put the head back on the shaver.
Would you recommend leaving the shaver head off and letting the shaver and the head air dry, before putting them back together?
I ask because I occasionally get a musty odor in the shaver after I shave. I have the one with the charging pad.
Thanks
I am reluctant to switch back to a Braun. I hope this will not be necessary.
Hi Jay,
Absolutely, I always let the shaving head air dry by itself (detached from the shaver). That’s probably the cause of the funky odor.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu,
Excellent, in-depth reviews! However, I have another couple of questions I’m betting you can answer: 1. I really like rotary shavers that include having the built-in, pop-up type trimmers, and 2. I really would prefer to forego the pricey cleaning system. Therefore, if you can direct me to the best Phillips Norelco shaver(s) that meet(s) my two sought-after criteria shown above, shall greatly appreciate your expert advice.
Thanks!
Josephus
Hi Josephus,
Thank you for the comment, much appreciated.
I actually prefer built-in trimmers myself. Most of the Philips models that feature a pop-up trimmer are low to mid-range shavers, but fortunately there are a few exceptions. One would be the new Series 9000. There’s no cleaning station with this range, but there is however a cleaning pod — it’s a small and really basic (not electrically powered) cleaning device (you can check out more about it here in my review of the new Series 7000).
The Philips Norelco Series 9000 9500 (S9985/84) is probably the model to buy as it comes with the fewest accessories and it’s also the cheapest of the new Series 9000 range. Performance-wise, it’s quite similar to the Prestige (almost as good).
The Series 7000 would be another option, a more budget-friendly one. It still has a built-in trimmer, it’s a lot cheaper (the Shaver 7100 S7788/82 model, to be precise) and it doesn’t come with the cleaning pod. The cutters of the Series 7000 aren’t as good with longer hairs as the ones that come with the Series 9000 or the Prestige, but you can actually upgrade to those (SH91 and SH98, respectively) as they will fit just fine.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Have you heard of any impending upgrades to the Norelco Prestige? The shaver really performs well for me, but I would like it to offer a cleaning/charging station like the Braun. I looked at switching back to the Braun, but its cleaning station will not fit on our new sink and besides the Prestige gives me a very close and comfortable shave.
Thanks
Hi Jay,
I’m afraid I haven’t come across any info regarding a future update. I am subscribed to their news and I regularly check for press releases, so I’ll be sure to update the review.
Also, in the event of a new Prestige, it’s still quite possible that we won’t get a cleaning station. For example, the latest 9000 Series only offers a quick clean pod. And so does the new 7000 Series. In contrast, the older generations of these two shavers did come with a cleaning station. It appears to me that Philips (Norelco) is slowly phasing out the full-fledged stations. I might be wrong of course, but right now it seems entirely possible.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
Given my issues I am not sure the pods will work for me. I have also moved from shaving daily to every other day. The Prestige seems to handle less frequent shaves very well.
Hi Ovidiu,
This is my primary source of good info on shavers. Thank you.
I presently have the Braun Series 9, and the S9000 Prestige. I have shaved with both for quite a while now. And I like them both — a lot.
I have a ridiculously thick beard and sensitive skin. And I can only shave about every 3rd day. Not a good combo. So getting the very best is important for me. Until I got the newest top-of-the-line Philips and Braun shavers — I had tried and given up on electric shaving multiple times. But those two shavers changed everything for me.
But ultimately, the Philips Norelco S9000 Prestige is the overall best razor for me. Shaves closer with fewer passes and without the scraped skin feeling. Even the very first time I used it — I was pretty astounded at how good the shave was.
But I just got done reading all the BestBuy reviews of the new Philips Norelco Shaver 9500.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips-norelco-9500-rechargeable-wet-dry-electric-shaver-with-quick-clean-travel-case-and-pop-up-trimmer-silver/6470651.p?skuId=6470651#:~:text=The%20new%20Philips%20Norelco%20Shaver,the%20previous%209000%20Series%20models.
Overall, impressive reviews. Seems that even the seemingly gimmicky things may add value.
That is pretty tempting.
But so is the upcoming Panasonic ARC6.
I’d like to buy both… but that would be sort of wasteful. So I’ll wait and watch for a little while.
Choices choices…
Hi Michael,
Thank you for the comment, I really appreciate it.
I haven’t shaved with the 9500, but I did use its shaving heads (SH91) on my Shaver 7700 which also has the new angular design of the head unit. It was really similar to the Prestige, but I would still pick the Prestige over it (more comfortable).
Considering your facial hair and shaving frequency, I think the Series 9 and the Prestige would suit you better than the Arc 6. Then again, when actually using it things could be different.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi want to ask is there any big difference between sh90 and sh98 because what I saw is just comb and the middle ring color is difference while the blades itself is exactly same, just curious because I’m using sw6700 with sh90 and many ppl said it’s fit with sh98 blades thanks
Hi Denny,
To me there is one (quite significant) difference between the SH90 and SH98 — the comfort. The SH98 is hands-down better in that regard. The comb itself probably doesn’t matter as much, but the cutting blades have a single cutting blade on the SH98 compared to the double blade design (Lift&Cut) on the SH90 (I am not referring to the two concentric rows of blades, but to each individual blade, single or double). Hope this makes sense.
If your skin is fine with the SH90, you probably won’t notice anything vastly improved by switching to SH98 cutters.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for the answer Btw will you review norelco S9986? If say I want to change from sw6700 better pick s9000 prestige or s9000 2nd gen?
No problem. I’ll definitely review it, sooner than later I hope. Personally, I would get the Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi I heard that there’s new model to the prestige series? Do you know what the main difference between old and new? I just see the head now rectangular shape like 9000 gen 2 series thx
Hi Denny,
There’s no new model in the Prestige series from what I know. The new Series 9000 does come with rectangular heads, but it’s not a Prestige. Can you share a link?
Thank you,
Ovidiu
Hi sorry for the late reply here is the link to the new prestige https://www.philips.com.sg/c-e/pe/face-shavers/series-9000-prestige.html
Hi Denny,
No problem, I did manage to find it in the meantime. It’s a really interesting move from Philips with this one, however, I don’t think we should look at it as a successor of the S9000 Prestige — the one I reviewed here. Instead, it looks like a more premium version of the new (regular) Series 9000: the angular/pentagonal heads and particularly the SH91 cutters (also used by the new Series 9000). The Prestige models come with the (better) SH98 heads. I will have to actually test it, but at this moment I wouldn’t say it’s better than the actual Prestige models like the SP9820 — on the contrary.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Because of my vision and hand coordination, I can’t do a thorough cleaning of the Prestige. Instead, I take the top part of the head off, rinse it under water. Rinse the bottom half and shaver under water and air dry. I do this every time I shave. Should this be sufficient? Otherwise, I would have no choice but to move back to the Braun. The Prestige seems to shave fine. What do you think?
Hi Jay,
It may or may not be enough in order to prevent some gunk or fine hair dust from accumulating inside each of the three cutting heads and prevent the shaver from performing optimally. It also depends on various factors like how often you shave, or if the shaver is stored in an environment with high humidity or dust and so on. I’m afraid I cannot give a definitive answer as I have never tried this cleaning routine alone (without any thorough cleaning) for a longer period.
What could help is cleaning the head with water and a bit of liquid soap and turning the shaver on for a few seconds to lather the soap. Or even spraying the head (when it’s dry) with a spray cleaner like the ones from Philips, Braun or the Remington Shaver Saver. You do not have to do this after every shave, just stick to your usual cleaning for the most part. But these are the only things that could help with your cleaning since taking apart the shaving heads is not an option.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Would I be better off with the 9700 that has the cleaning pod?
Hi Jay,
Although I’m not a huge fan of the pod, mainly because the cartridge lacks a mesh filter and it’s a bit messy to use, it’s still an effective way of cleaning the shaver. I think for the time being you can keep using your Prestige and just clean it the best you can. Performance-wise the 9700 should be pretty close to the Prestige, I think you’ll find it similar in case you decide to get it. The SH98 Prestige heads feel a bit smoother to me, but I am particularly sensitive to rotary shavers, so other users may not notice any difference.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I checked with Norelco customer care. They said as long as I clean it after every shave, I should be fine. Thanks.
I use mine wet (brush and soap), with just a rinse and spray with Remington Shaver Saver and it has remained spotless for over a year.
Thanks for the comment, Allan. That’s good to know; it’s a real shame I can’t get the spray in Europe anymore. It’s by far the best product of this type I’ve ever used.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Forgive me for highjacking this discussion about the Prestige, but I would like to resurrect the discussion above around these shavers:
* S9000 Prestige with SH98 heads (e.g., SP9820) with SH98 heads
* 9000 9500 with SH91 heads (e.g., S9985/84)
* 9000 9700 with SH90 heads (e.g., S9721/84, aka “previous 9000”, sold as “9900 Pro” by Costco)
-> I will call them “Prestige”, “9500” and “9700” respectively.
I was concerned about Ovidiu’s comment above, “The whole shaving units are interchangeable between the Series 9000 and Series 9000 Prestige and to my surprise, the heads themselves, meaning the SH98 comb & blade pairs of the Prestige, will also fit. I tried them on my S9000 and even though it was a tighter fit for the combs in those plastic holders, the retaining rings still snapped perfectly into place and everything seemed to work just fine.”
-> Questions for Ovidiu:
1. What does “tighter fit” mean in this context?
2. Does the SH98 assembly (frame with 3 heads) snap in the 9000 9700 model with exactly the same fit as the Prestige? In other words, aside from cosmetics, would replacing the SH90 assembly and heads with an SH98 assembly turn a 9700 into a shaver that shaves the same as a Prestige with the same fit and function?
3. What is the actual difference between the SH98 and the SH91 heads? The cutters and track mechanisms look identical. Are the differences related to how the combs and cutter fit and extend from the frame?
Background:
I have had a (new model) 9500 and a new 9700 at home for over 3 weeks and still can’t decide which to keep. The Prestige is too expensive.
The 9500 ($200) feels more solid and durable and has all the features I like. The problem with it is the head assembly feels like a large flat slab on my face. The heads are nearly flush with the frame and do not flex in the frame as you move them across you face. I think it is the lack of head flexing in the frame that makes it feel like a slab. Still, the resulting shave is good.
The 9700 (on sale, $150) feels flimsy, and I worry that it won’t last, especially with unsnapping the heads frame to clean the whiskers out, and also unsnapping to exchange the heads and trimmer. The Costco version came with two sets of SH90 heads to use up before I might buy an SH98 set. Will the 9700 shaver last that long? What I like about the 9700 is that it feels better than the 9500. The heads conform to my face as I move it around, and I discovered that the heads flex inside their frame – a big difference between the 9700 and the 9500.
Bottom line questions:
3. (Same as 3, above): I would like help understanding the difference between the SH98 and SH91 cutters/heads? They look the same to me.
4. Does the non-flexing heads/frame of the 9500 make a difference when choosing to replace heads with SH98 vs. SH91?
5. Is the 9700 durable? Will it last through two sets of SH90 heads before I start using SH98 heads with it? Is the SH98 head assembly “snap in” compatible or “tight”?
-> 6. Which would you keep:
* The 9500 – newer model, feels solid, with built-in pop-up trimmer. Head frame has nicer spring hinge. Comes with an included cleaner, but has pentagonal “slab heads” when shaving.
or
* The 9700 – less expensive, feels flimsy with separate snap-on head assembly and trimmer – potential durability issues. Head frame snaps on and off to clean – another wear issue? But … it comes with an extra set of SH90 heads, and cost $50 less than the 9500. (Cleaner not included.)
Hi David,
Thanks for the comment — those are some excellent points/dilemmas. I do not have definitive answers to all of them, but I’ll share my two cents and hopefully that will help as well.
1. Tighter fit means that compared to the SH90, an SH98 comb seemed to be more fiddly to fit into the cradle. But to be honest, it was something negligible, the SH98 heads work perfectly fine on the old 9000 Series.
2. Yes, the shaving units are interchangeable. And I’m referring to both the top part with the 3 heads (the one you pry off to clean it) and the whole shaving head (the one you remove to insert the hair trimmer in its place).
3. The main difference is that the SH98 has a single blade design, while the SH91 features a double blade (Lift & Cut), same as the SH90. Important: I am not referring to the two concentric rows of blades (present on both the SH98 and SH91), but to each individual blade. I personally prefer the single-blade design of the SH98 as I find it much smoother when shaving, but I am particularly sensitive to this and have always found the SH90 too aggressive. If you find the shave of the 9700 (and of the 9500) smooth, this may not make a difference in your case.
This should answer the question regarding the differences between SH90 and SH91 — I don’t think there are any except for the inner track of the comb. We have holes on the SH91 and these wider slits on the SH90. But the quality of the shave seems to be about the same.
4. No, both will fit just fine.
5. With normal use, it should last without any problems. As I mentioned above, both the individual cutters (comb + blades), as well as the whole shaving assemblies will fit.
6. This really comes down to your personal preference. For example, I’m not a fan of the angular/pentagonal heads on the 9500 (and on the new Series 7000). They just feel unnecessarily large and thick, the lack of flexing doesn’t bother me that much. Also, I prefer the cleaning station that comes with the 9700, the pod of the 9500 is just not there (yet). You may not care about the station though. I understand that it didn’t come with yours anyway? Normally it is included with the 9700.
The old 9000 does feel cheap and flimsy, but again, it should be fine. My only gripe with the 9700 is the lack of the hinge so I can pop open the shaving unit without having to pry off the top part. More of an annoyance as even the cheap Series 3000 has it.
So I would keep the 9700 and buy the SH98 heads, but again, it’s only personal preference as there are only a couple of rotaries that work well on my skin (the Prestige and the new Series 6000).
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I suspect you rarely get closure, so here is mine: I kept trying and swapping these two models:
* 9000 9500, aka S9985/84 with SH91 heads
* 9000 9700, aka S9721/84 with SH90 heads, sold as “9900 Pro” by Costco.
I will call them “9500” and “9700” respectively.
I liked everything about the 9500 better, except:
* The larger size vs. the 9700.
* The way it shaves. I did not like how the large, flat “slab” shave frame and heads felt on my face. Unlike the 9700, the heads on the 9500 do not pivot in the frame, Only the “head holders” in the frame pivot. In other words, the heads pivot one way only, not two ways at 90 degrees to each other like the 9700 or Prestige.
The 9700 had:
* Smaller size which made it easier to handle, store, and travel.
* Better shave. The heads moved better with the contours of my face. I believe the difference is that the heads move independently in the frame in addition to the head holders moving at 90 degrees to the heads.
* Will shave more like a Prestige if SH98 heads are used.
* $50 cheaper and it included an extra set of SH90 heads, too.
Everything else was flimsier, cheaper, or worse on the 9700 vs. the 9500. I do not like nor trust the swappable shaving heads and trimmer on the 9700. It all feels cheap and I believe they will break too soon.
Despite the drawbacks. I kept the 9700 (Costco 9900 Pro) and returned the 9500. The 9700 was the best value and a more comfortable shave.
David, many thanks for taking the time to get back on this. You are correct, most of time I do not know how the newly bought shavers performed, so I truly appreciate the thoroughness of your feedback.
The slab-like feel of the 9500 on the face seems to be a thing, though some users aren’t bothered by it. The limited range of motion of the heads clearly doesn’t help in that regard. And I absolutely agree on the flimsiness and lack of refinement of the trimmer. I actually do not like the trimmer itself (I only use it to trim and shape my sideburns), it’s way too bulky, and takes a lot of work to cut the hairs. It is rather decent for trimming the beard before shaving though.
I think the 9700 was the better pick overall and better value for money.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Is the Phillips Norelco Prestige the best razor that they make
To me it is — that said, in terms of value for money it’s not great as it’s an expensive shaver that doesn’t come with a cleaning station or an integrated pop-up trimmer.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I’ve read through the very thorough review, Ovidiu, and want to thank you for all the time you take in going over every aspect of each shaver (and in particular, this Norelco). Whereas I’ve used most of the flagship shavers (foil and rotary), I have not yet sprung for the s9000 Prestige given that my older 9721 was still functional. But it is getting long in the tooth so I’m ready to buy another Norelco and from what I can see, the newer 9800 series with their odd-shaped shaving heads, do not interest me. As for the lack of a cleaning unit, to me that is relatively unimportant. I can do what I have done for my Panasonic Arc5 (buy the cleaning liquid, pour it into a small Tupperware container that I keep in a bathroom cabinet and run the shaver in that periodically before rinsing it off. No need for a cleaning station taking up space and my shaver cutters are still cleaned and smelling great. I’m assuming that you agree that the s9000 is still the best Norelco has to offer…. correct? And whereas I can always purchase the SH98 heads for my old 9721 shaver, given its age and slightly lower-powered motor, it seems logical that I upgrade instead of buying the head alone. Any thoughts in that regard? Thanks.
Hi Wayne,
Thank you for the comment, I completely agree with everything you said. That is correct, for me, the Prestige is still the best shaver Norelco currently has to offer, including the new Series 9000 with the angular heads (which I also don’t like). I still think the price is too high, but again, in terms of performance, it’s better than the other ones.
Normally I would simply recommend buying the SH98 cutters if you have an old Series 9000 in good working condition. But as you’ve said, if other factors like its age, battery, etc come into play, getting a new shaver would make more sense.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
kThans, Ovidiu. Is it the combs (unique slot and hole placement), the type of cutters/blades or a combination of both that factors into both the closeness of shave as well as the comfort and irritation level? I still have an older AT830 which takes the old HQ8 heads and frankly, while it cuts closely it also irritates the heck out of my neck. I cannot figure our why this should be the case but I’ve tried all kids of different pressures and motions and still, it ends up irritating me. And I’ve been using Philips for close to 40 years so I’m really well acquainted with rotary shavers and how to use them. But to be truthful, I’ve never given it much thought – just grabbed my shaver and shaved and generally with great success. So what exactly is the secret to why certain Norelco are both comfortable and close shaving and others are not on either or both?
No problem. I think it’s a combination of multiple factors that affect it to various degrees. From the way the cutter sits in the comb to sharpness, speed of rotation and the type of the blade. In my opinion the latter has the greatest influence. The HQ8 heads use the Super Lift&Cut blades which are in my opinion responsible for the irritation I’m experiencing whenever I shave with a Philips razor fitted with this type of blade. As I mentioned in the review, the switch to normal (single) blades in the case of the SH98 is what makes them so comfortable. It’s the same in the case of the SH60 heads of the new (and cheaper) Series 6000 which is again really comfortable compared to most other rotaries.
I’m curious about your experience with a quality foil shaver like the Panasonic Arc 5 or a Braun Series 9. Have you ever used/considered one? Many lifetime Norelco users are really surprised by the improvement in comfort and closeness.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hey, Ovidiu.
I’m in my 70’s now, closer to 80 than the latter. I’ve been shaving since I was 16 and most of those years it’s been electric. I’ve used almost every electric brand and model and have developed a bit of an addiction to having multiple shavers. Currently I have rotary-wise: a 9800 (9721 rebranded by Costco as a 9800), a 8000 series, a 4500 (AT830) and a 9500 on order. On my shelf I also have a Panasonic Arc5 (older model), a Braun Series 9 with cleaning module, a Braun Series 7 with cleaning module (older version).
This morning I shaved with the Braun Series 7 and received a very close and comfortable shave. However, if I continue using the shaver I will develop skin bumps in a couple of weeks which I never receive from my rotary shavers. And whereas the Panasonic possibly delivers the closest shave (although I would say it is a toss-up with the Norelco 9800 and the Braun Series 9), it is generally not used since I can’t stand the high-pitched whining of the motor (it’s too disturbing to my ears (and my wife’s) that early in the morning so it is usually not used.
For me, Ovidiu, comfort ranks equal to closeness. And comfort not only includes how my skin feels after the shave but how my ears are bothered during the shave. Try as I might, I just don’t like the Panasonic nearly as much as either Braun and I don’t like either Braun nearly as much as my Norelco. At the heart of it all – I’m a Norelco guy like my brother-in-law who passed away two weeks ago at age 88 having used a Philips Norelco his entire shaving life. He would not use anything but a Norelco and almost always never a flagship model.
Hi Wayne,
Many thanks for taking the time to answer, I truly enjoyed reading about your experience with various shavers over the years — those are some great points in favor of Norelco over other foil-based shavers. All things considered, it seems like it would be best to keep using a rotary. Hope you’ll like the 9500, for my skin it was definitely better comfort-wise than the old Series 9000 (like your 9800), both during and right after the shave. But then again, my experience is not really a good benchmark when it comes to rotaries. I hope you’ll enjoy shaving with it, maybe even let me know if you have the time.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hey, Ovidiu. So, I had the 9500 for a week… the one with all the bells and whistles (pressure light indicator, cleaning pod, no charging stand). Here’s what I discovered. On the plus side: a very smooth, reasonably close shave (about the same as my older 9721 shaver with the SH90 heads) and very quiet motor which both I and my wife love. 🙂 On the negative side, I did NOT like the handle which I did not find ergonomically suited to my hand which is arthritic. It just was not a comfortable fit and I was constantly worried about it slipping out of my hands. As for the shape of the heads and the question as to whether it would be a factor in reaching that hard to shave area under my nose as well as the jawline – no problem whatsoever. I just shaved exactly as Philips advised by turning the head to the narrow side and continuing the shave. However, I have returned the shaver and ordered the s9000 Prestige which I believe will provide a better fit for my hand; at least I hope so or it too will be returned. I’ll let you know how “that” works out. Life is interesting, eh? haha
Hi Wayne,
Thank you for the follow-up — I honestly didn’t pay too much attention to the handle, definitely not as much as I should have. On the new Series 9000 and 7000 the handle is more of a form over function thing, it doesn’t taper much and isn’t ergonomically shaped. I didn’t find it particularly comfortable to hold, but also didn’t have any major issues using it. But I can definitely see this being a problem for someone with artritis. The Prestige should be (a lot) better in that regard. Looking forward to your thoughts on it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hmmm… well, the shaver is 6 years old. It still works (i.e. holds a charge and powers the cutters). I assumed, Ovidiu, that at that age it might be wiser to upgrade but that now begs the question: is it worth it? Is the motor on the s9000 Prestige more powerful enough to provide a substantial difference in shave or is it the sh98 cutting head that provides the shaving difference? Your recommendation has now got me asking questions as to whether I’m being too hasty to upgrade.
In my opinion the blades make the biggest difference. It’s really difficult to objectively evaluate the motors of the two. To me they seem very similar, maybe with a plus for the Prestige in the highest power setting (which I’m always using).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
On humid days the shaver does not glide as well. Is that to be expected? Pre-Shave has other consequences, so I am not using any. Is this a characteristic of the Prestige?
Thanks
Jay
Hi Jay,
Is definitely to be expected with any electric shaver. In my experience rotaries (and the way they glide) can be affected to a higher degree by moisture compared to foil shavers. That’s mainly because the area that comes in contact with the skin is larger and also because there’s usually plastic surrounding the shaving heads, which sticks to the skin more compared to metal (in the case of foil shavers).
I always have this problem in the summer, pre-shave helps, but during hot and humid days it’s still an issue. I can only solve it by turning the AC on high before I shave.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I usually use the Remington powder stick during high humidity times. It definitely helps prevent “juddering” of the shaving heads.
I’m on day 3 with my new s9000 Prestige which is turning out to be a winner; probably the best Norelco I’ve ever owned (and I’ve owned a ton of them over the years including the James Bond model. The handle fits nicely into my oftentimes aching right hand so that there are no fears of my dropping the shaver (as there was with the 9500 series shaver). The whisper soft whir of the shaver when turned on was a welcome to our ears in the early morning. But what is most important is the excellent shave it provided: close and comfortable (i.e. irritation free). All the formerly difficult areas (under the nose, sideburns, jawline) were easily shaved. I bought the SP9820 meaning that it charges from the electrical cord and not the wireless Chi. I wanted a fast 1 hour charge vs 3 hours and I did NOT want that Chi brick on my counter on a daily basis. In truth, I saw no reason to opt for the Chi since the shaver package is so much more portable for traveling. All in all, I’m very pleased with my purchase and look forward to many years of Norelco shaving ahead.
Wayne
I am using the wireless model with the charging pad. I find that the charging pad and cord fit easily on my sink and is actually more compact and stable. Once it is fully charged, I charge it after each use, which only takes a few minutes to reach 100%. When I purchased the shaver, from Bestbuy. the wireless model was more readily available and only $20 more costly. Hope this helped.
That’s awesome, Wayne, glad it turned out to be a winner. Enjoy shaving with your Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
A few questions to sate my curiosity. 1) Is it true that the 9860 Prestige can be charged by cord if the plastic bottom on the handle is removed? 2) Is the wiring for the 9820 vs the 9860 different in order to accommodate wireless charging? 3) Regarding the lack of a cleaning station: for those of us with older 9000 series shavers (I.e. 9721) and the accompanying cleaning stations, can the SH98 head be removed and attached to the older 9000 series shaver to then be mounted in the cleaning station for a cleaning without risking damage? 4) Lastly, if the s9860 were actually $40 cheaper than the s9820, would you go for that or would you still go for the one you recommended in the article above-the 9820 for the reasons stated above?
Those are some really great questions.
1) I’m afraid I do not have a definitive answer to this. I didn’t get the 9860 so I cannot confirm this. But I would say that it is unlikely.
2) It definitely is different, particularly in the case of the 9860. A small charging coil must be fitted inside of the shaver and the 9820 lacks it.
3) Yes, it works just fine if you have an older Series 9000 and just swap the heads. Many users are actually doing it.
4) Price is a big factor for me personally when buying a shaver and also whenever I make a recommendation. But if I were to buy it for my personal use, I think I would still go with the 9820. In this case the wireless-only charging is a nuisance and I don’t know where I would place the charging pad.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Jay. Thanks for sharing. I completely understand your choice. The truth is, I’m faced with the predicament of what to do with the shaver when I’ve rinsed it? The only viable solution is to let it rest on the counter and dry so I did not gain anything by opting for the 9820 in terms of counter space. At least with the 9500 series shaver I had the choice of letting it rest on the cleaning module or on the charger rather than lay it on its side. Philips really dropped the ball on their flagship model. I would never, however, keep it charged at 100% even though it is a Lithium battery. I generally let my electronic devices (I.e. iPhone, MacBook) drop down to 30% before recharging and frequently I’ll pull them at 90% as opposed to a full charge. I guess different strokes for different folks, eh?
Wayne
I run the shaver under the tap. I remove the top part of the head. I run that under the tap. I don’t do a deep cleaning with the rings, because of my hand coordination. I hold the shaver in portrait orientation. The water drains from the hole. The shaver head rests on the sink to air dry. The shaver body rests on the charger pad to charge and air dry.
I don’t worry about maximizing battery life. If I have to replace the shaver more often, then so be it. Life is too short to get compulsive about optimized charging for me.
Same for my iPhone 13 PM and AW series 7. They go on Belkin’s new 3 in 1 fast charger at bedtime and I remove them in the morning. I used to get anxious about optimizing charging for all my devices. No more.
Jay
One other point,Wayne. I would go through shavers every 3-6 months. Every time there was a favorable review I would purchase. Foil vs Rotary? Cleaning station vs not? One or two failed prematurely. I realize there is no such thing as a perfect shaver. My Norelco Prestige has been the longest to date.
Hi Jay. Again, thanks for the clarification. It’s interesting that you mention hand co-ordination. One of my issues is a very sore right hand due to arthritis in the center finger. I can, of course, use the hand but there is no more golf for me (haha). It was because of this issue alone that I returned the 9500 series shaver (the wisdom of which I’m beginning to question) and purchased the 9280 Prestige. I found the somewhat non-ergonomic body of the 9500 to be not to my liking in terms of holding it. As far as the octagonal head shape, this did not affect me in terms of shaving my upper lip and I found the shave to be just as close as the Prestige. My wife and I have a large double sink counter in our ensuite so although space is no issue in terms of the shaver lying on its side to dry, I don’t like the “look”. As for charging the shaver or other electronic devices, I think if you checked with the Apple geniuses you’d discover that they recommend letting our iPhones discharge to about 30% before recharging and although a full charge is not going to do any permanent damage, it’s still advisable to pull them before that point. Do I ever fully charge my phone overnight? Sure, but not on a regular basis. The same is true for my MacBook; no overnight charging but when I discover that it’s low in charge (i.e. 20-30%) I’ll charge it then and there and if I need a computer I still have my iPad and an older Surface 6. My feeling here, Jason, relates more to the way in which I was raised (i.e. to try and keep things working and/or repaired before discarding them for something new). It’s not a reflection on your approach but simply the reality of how I was raised and now at 76 I’m reluctant to change. The question for me now is: will I return the Prestige and go back to the 9500 series? haha… one of life’s sweet dilemmas.
Wayne
We have a small sink in a small vanity. The “ledge” around is only 4.5 inches wide. That limits our options. For example, the Braun cleaning station, really does not fit well on the sink. The maximum vanity width the bathroom can accommodate is 23 inches. In many ways the wireless Prestige fits best. The building was constructed in 1957 in NYC. That was not the era of large bathrooms.
I’ve decided to return the s9000 Prestige. Whereas it gave a good shave (i.e. reasonably close and comfortable) and had a decent shape to the handle so that I could hold it comfortably, I did NOT find it much better than my current 9721 Norelco with cleaning module. In the end, for me it boils down to decent shave, convenience, aesthetics and price and the Prestige did not meet all of the criteria.
Hi Wayne,
That’s a very fair point. I would pick the Prestige over the old Series 9000 just for the comfort of the shave (which can also be solved by upgrading the shaving heads), but that’s only because the S9000 is just way too harsh on my face. If that’s not an issue it makes sense to hold on to your current shaver.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Jay, I had not seen your post for some reason before I posted my own just below it. In response to “your” post, I completely understand your situation and given the same parameters, I might very well have chosen to go your route. I can honestly say that the shave I received from the Prestige over the past week has not been “substantially” better than what I was currently receiving from my older 9000 Norelco and therefore did not warrant the nearly 300 dollar price tag. I did receive, however, a 30% coupon from Philips that can be used up until the year’s end so who knows… I may simply wait to see what the company comes out with over the next short while. Best regards.
Wayne
Good luck. I have no frame of reference to compare the Prestige to other Norelco shavers. Prior to my Prestige, I was using Braun. My dermatologist suggested I switch. Happy I did.
For those who might be interested, the charging stand for the 9500 series Norelco shavers (i.e. 9985/84) will actually hold the s9000 Prestige shaver upright on your counter top. Granted, I cannot get it to charge but at least the shaver is not lying on its side. I was sent the stand by Philips prior to my returning the 9985 and so I was able to try it out and it will work. It may not be worth the $26 US for this one type of use but for those who simply don’t care about the money, there it is.
Thank you for the info, Wayne — I agree it’s a bit of a niche use case for a charging stand, but someone might find it useful.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Question: I see there is a new Prestige shaver available in the UK. It appears to have a s9000 Prestige handle with the newer head for the 9500 series shaver here in the US. I’m assuming the blades are the SH91/52. This begs the question: can those blades be fitted into the head of the Prestige shaver’s retaining bracket and work properly? I’m not sure there would be any advantage but I’m curious. Also, could the entire head (which has the advantage of a flip-top/hinged action as opposed to the head needing to be completely removed to be cleaned… can it be interchanged on the s9000 Prestige shaver?
I suppose I’m repeating myself here but it appears that the replacement blades are the SH91 blades. If the entire head cannot be fitted onto the older handle (and I’m not sure this would even be desirable if possible other than now benefitting from a flip action head), what about switching out the older SH98 heads for the newer SH91 heads? Would these fit into the older Prestige head and if so would there be any advantage/disadvantage for the shave provided?
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for the comments, those are some excellent observations. I’ve also seen the new Frankenstein Prestige which is more of a fancy 9500 in my opinion. It does come with the SH91 cutters which in my experience are slightly inferior to the SH98 of the original Prestige. The only upgrade seems to be the hinged shaving unit which makes cleaning a bit easier.
The actual SH91 cutters (ie guard and blade pairs) will fit the old Prestige head. Likewise, the SH98 cutters will also work on this revamped Prestige. And as you’ve mentioned, the whole head should also fit the original Prestige handle. I say that because the new Prestige also comes with the same SmartClick trimmer as the old Prestige that you would use instead of the shaving head. Hope this makes sense.
I personally don’t see any advantages apart from the flip head and I don’t think it’s worth spending so much money for that alone. Moreover, I don’t like the new angular head design of the 9500, I find it more cumbersome to use compared to the old design.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ah…that makes perfect sense. I knew I could count on your expertise.
Ovidiu
When might the new Prestige be available in the US?
Will it come with a charging pad option?
Will it offer cleaning possibility?
Thanks
Jay
Hi Jay,
I’m afraid I do not have any info regarding an official USA release. Philips (Norelco) is still pushing hard the new 9000 Series in the USA. I don’t think there’ll be a cleaning station available with this new Prestige, possibly just the cleaning pod. A charging pad option is likely though.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Is the 9860 not supposed to have the display wake up when you touch it? On my old 9711 the display lights Up when moving it and according to this review the 9820 have the same function. But my just bought 9860 seems not to have it? Can someone else with the 9860 confirm that the display should not light up when moving it? Another thing I noticed when charging it on the pad is that the charge progression showing the percentage is only available for a few seconds then only the battery indicator starts flashing. Is it the same on the 9820? On my old 9711 the percentage progression is visible during the whole charge. The shaver was pre charged to 10% but seemed to charge faster then advertised since it was charged to full in just around 2 hours.
Hi Joakim,
From what I know, the lift-to-wake feature is available on the SP9860 as well. When charging the SP9820, the percentage is displayed when you pick it up, then it’ll only show a flashing battery icon, so it’s the same. The time required for a full charge is often lower than the official numbers.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I discovered that the lift to Wake functions on mine aswell but only directly of the charger. If I pick it up for instance when it is in the carry case then nothing happens I have to turn it on to light up the display. Is it the same on the 9820?
On the 9820 it seems to be on all the time, the shaver doesn’t have to be plugged in.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I had an older type 9860 (2018 model) and the display woke up when I moved. The new 9860 (model 2022) now only wakes up from the charger. According to the store’s answer, the upgrade was done to save the battery, when this model was discharging rapidly while traveling (the display was always on).
Thanks so much for the info, Vlad — that’s really interesting, I wasn’t aware of the upgrade.
Sincerely, Ovidiu
I was just in contact with Philips chat support here in Sweden and according to them the SP9860 and the SP9820 should not light up when lifting them out of the bag only when they are beeing charged. But you say your 9820 lights up all the time? If so this is conflicting information . Now I am confused:)
Hi Joakim,
I can definitely confirm that the SO9820 lights up when lifting it out of the bag or from the countertop (you can see it in action here). 🙂 And others can confirm that as well, you can check out some user reviews on major online stores.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Have used Norelco rotary shavers for over 50 years. They shave me well, unlike foils which irritate my face. After reading this article, I decided to upgrade a step and bought the S9311/84 Model. No irritation with it and a far better shave than with the inexpensive Norelco models. I’m wondering whether I can upgrade again at a later date by replacing the 9300 complete head with the new S9000 or SH98/72 head? Thought the rotation speeds or another factor such as fit might make this inappropriate. Thoughts? Oh, it’s an exceptionally good article from you! Thanks for sharing such excellent information!
Hi Syd,
Thank you so much, glad you find the review helpful.
Regarding your question, yes, you can upgrade later on — the SH98 blades (Prestige) or the SH91 (of the new S9000) will fit just fine. The whole head should fit as well. I personally like the SH98, I think they are slightly better than the SH91 and a lot more comfortable than the SH90 in the old S9000. But if you’re already getting a great shave with it and no irritation, the upgrade may not seem that significant.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
With my Norelco Prestige, I sometimes have difficulty in the neck area. I have to make more rotary passes and hold the skin. Other times it is fine. Pre-shave does not help and seems to reduce what is actually shaved (less whiskers in the shaving head). Will the 9500 do a better job and be easier to clean?
Thanks
Jay
Ovidiu
Am I better off shaving every day?
Jay
Hi Jay,
It’ll be easier to clean only in the sense that you have that flip-open head, so you don’t have to pull it off every time. But other than that it’ll be exactly the same.
Shaving more often is generally recommended, although rotary razors seem to benefit a bit less than foil shavers which only work reasonably well on short hair (there are a few exceptions to that). Also, pre-shaves that provide more lubrication are better with rotary razors. Something like Speick, Lectric Shave or Lab Series would be my picks.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
With the 9500, is there still a need to take the rings apart for thorough cleaning? I thought the quick clean pod might eliminate that.
Jay
Shouldn’t be necessary, if you clean it regularly with the pod, that’ll take care of it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu.
Thank you for running this site with all its comprehensive and honest information. I find it really useful.
I am considering buying the “old” Philips Prestige (SP9820). I do prefer its rounded head over the new cumbersome pentagonal in newer model.
My concern is that SH98 blades have been discontinued, and Philips says that for SP98xx, SH91 are its replacement from now on.
I thought the SH98 were better than SH91 in both comfort and closeness. Am I right?
Have you tried yourself the SH91 in the SP98xx? What is your opinion?
Do you find the move from SH98 to SH91 some underwhelming?
Thanks,
Francisco
Hi Francisco,
Many thanks for the comment, I really appreciate it.
As far as I know, the SH98 heads haven’t been discontinued. I see that Philips still lists them on the shaver’s product page here (click on Show all Technical Specifications).
I have used the SH91 on my Prestige and I’d say the SH98 are slightly better, but the differences are subtle. I think the SH91 would be a viable alternative should Philips decide to phase out the SH98. It wouldn’t make much sense, but we know from past experience that they sometimes do this kind of move (followed by the outrage of the loyal customers).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu.
Thanks for your really quick response.
Maybe SH98 are only going to be discontinued in Europe?
In some Philips European sites SH98 is already shown as no longer available:
For instance in Spain:
https://www.philips.es/c-p/SH98_70/shaver-s9000-prestige-sustitucion-de-los-cabezales-de-afeitado
Same in France:
https://www.philips.fr/c-p/SP9820_12/rasoir-series-9000-prestige/accessoires
Same in The Netherlands:
https://www.philips.nl/c-p/SH98_70/shaver-s9000-prestige-vervangende-scheerhoofden
Same in UK:
https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH98_70/shaver-s9000-prestige-replacement-shaving-heads
Notice in UK it states the product is discontinued and the successor is SH91.
Looking SH91 next to SH98, they are pretty similar: double row of concentric blades, combs with slits for the outer and pinholes for the inner and I guess even materials should be the same.
Somehow it seems Philips considers newer SH91 a minor upgrade over SH98, but what if it is just the opposite?
Thanks again,
Francisco.
Hi Francisco,
You are very welcome and thank you for providing the links. It does appear so, at least for the European market. It wouldn’t be totally unusual to see a superior product being discontinued and replaced with another one (Philips did precisely that with the notoriously good RQ12 heads by replacing them with the RQ12+ and RQ12 Pro which were nowhere near as good). Fortunately, in this case, the real-worlds differences between the SH98 and SH91 are minor and the latter would be a good fallback option. I think most users won’t even notice any difference.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hey Ovidiu,
Thank you for the wonderful article!
I also arrived here in trying to determine if it would be prudent to purchase a S9000 with the new SH91 blades (as every review I have found otherwise is done with the SH98 blades).
Both blades are compatible, no?
Seems a wise option might be to purchase model with SH98 blades and change if needed.
Very intriguing challenge to determine what this all means when looking for the premium shave. 🙂
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your kind comment, much appreciated.
That is correct, both blades are compatible. The differences in a real-world use case are marginal. Personally, I would give the SH98 the edge, but other users may not notice anything different. I also prefer the round design of the shaving heads over the angular ones on the new S9000, but it’s again more of a subjective manner. That’s why I would still get the old-style Prestige with the SH98 heads and I would simply buy the SH91 heads in the future should Philips choose to discontinue the SH98 completely.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thank you for writing a very good and thorough review! You have to be very patient to read all the comments…
For those who has the Qi charger version, and want to use a cable charger, this YouTube video will show how-to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Alq-OGgy3Q
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
That’s really useful to know — I haven’t been able to try the shaver that comes with the wireless charger, so I couldn’t see for myself what’s behind that cover. I will be updating the review with the new info.
Thanks again for the heads-up.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I removed the cover/end cap on my Norelco s9000 Prestige 9860 shaver with Qi charging pad to charge it directly from the plug. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t charge that way and I tried several cords on it. Can anyone figure out why it wouldn’t charge with a charging cord directly attached to the shaver?
Hi Seth,
That’s really interesting. The video does show how to remove the cover, but it doesn’t say if the wired charging actually works. I only assumed it works since my Prestige is the SP9820 (without the pad), so I couldn’t test it. Did you try charging yours with an original Philips charger?
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Mr. Ovidiu,
Have you actually tested if the SH98 cutters or whole head is compatible with the 9000 series (RQ1280 or 3d sensotouch).
I read mixed reviews in bestbuy/amazon where users say it’s compatible, but philips says it’s not.
Philips is saying SH70 is the replacement for the SH90s/RQ12pro but it feels like a downgrade going to a 7000 series head from a 9000.
SH98 look very similar to the SH90s and look like it will fit in an RQ12pro head.
Hi Jeremy,
I gave away my Norelco 3D Sensotouch years ago, so I cannot actually try it. But I’m pretty sure the SH98 blades will fit. Also, the SH98 fit perfectly in the Series 7000 which further makes me think they will work perfectly fine with the RQ1280. In fact, they should fit any shaver that uses the SH70, SH71, SH90, SH91 and the different RQ12 variants.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi, in the lower end Norelco models 2000/3000/4000 I love the integrated trimmer and small footprint but they don’t shave very close and get quite loud. I tried the higher end 5k and 7k models but they have a big/clunky footprint and often lack the integrated trimmer. My question: Is the 9000 a smaller footprint like the lower end Norelco models ? And have you found a shaver with a good shave and integrated trimmer that is not bulky ?
Best, Andrew
Hi Andrew,
That’s actually why I like the new Series 3000 and actually recommend it over the current 5000, 6000 and even 7000 Series — the form factor makes it more manageable and easier to use. I always prefer integrated trimmers over separate attachments as well. That said, I’m afraid it would be pretty much impossible to find a Philips shaver that ticks all those boxes. The 9000 is definitely more in line with the Series 7000 in terms of proportions, although it’s a bit better since it doesn’t use those big angular heads and comes with a more conservative design. But it is bulkier than a Series 3000 or 2000.
Oddly, Philips only uses pop-up trimmers on the lower-end shavers. The new 9000 (9500 and 9800) however has an integrated trimmer, but the shaver itself is probably the bulkiest in Philips’s current lineup.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I am thinking of changing from my Norelco Prestige to the 9800 because of the Quick Clean pod and therefore not having to worry about deep clean. My Prestige shave well. Do you think it’s a bad idea to change? I can’t do a deep cleaning of the Prestige. I can only take off the head and wash it under water. Is this sufficient?
Jay
Hi Jay,
Without a deep clean the heads can get clogged in certain conditions — like not washing the shaving head with water after every shave, excessive skin oils, storing the shaver in a dusty environment, the use of certain products like shaving cream or pre-shave talcum and so on. I think you should just carry on using and cleaning your Prestige the best you can, it should be fine.
I don’t think there’s reason to change it, really. I am also a bit reluctant to recommend the 9800 because of the larger heads, that shaver is not as manageable as the Prestige with its more conventional round heads.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I take off the head and wash the head under the faucet. I rinse out the shaver without the head. Given my coordination, that is the best I can do. Is that sufficient?
Jay
Yes, that should be enough, Jay.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Jay, I have a small Tupperware container that I fill with Philips cleaner. Once a week, I’ll run the shaver head in that container and then shake it off a let it air dry. Then I’ll spray it with Shaver Saver to lubricate it. This takes the place of having a cleaning module and/or pod. It’s another idea for what it’s worth.
Wayne
Where do you get the solution? I don’t see it available.
Does this model really need a lubricant? TBH it feels like a pain in the arse to maintain.
Philips doesn’t explicitly recommend it, so unless you clean it with water and soap, I think it can work just fine without any. Rotaries are a lot less susceptible to friction wear compared to foil shavers. I still think lubrication may be beneficial, so every once in a while you can use some clipper oil or a spray.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Wayne
Hi, Jay. You have three options available on Amazon. Sadly, the Norelco Jet clean solution is no longer available so we’re forced to do one of the following: 1) purchase the Quick Clean Pod cartridges and then empty those into the Tupperware container. 2) purchase the Cleaning Cartridges for the Norelco Smartclean system and do the same – empty them one at a time as needed into the container. 3) purchase an alternative called Shaver Shebang which is purported by this third party maker to take the place of the older Norelco Jet Clean solution. When I toyed with the 9500 shaver for a time before returning it, I had two pods left over which I then used in this manner. They worked beautifully and my older Norelco comes out smelling fresh and clean each time. I only use it sparingly so a couple of pods will take months before I need to repurchase them.
BTW, Jay. I only mentioned Shaver Shebang since it is an option. I will not use that option myself, given the negative reviews. Personally, I would stick with Norelco products given the expense of your shaver and opt for either of the Norelco cartridges I mentioned.
Thank you for the info, Wayne, really useful to know.
In Europe the JetClean solution is still available and quite reasonably priced. I don’t know for how long though. As a side note, I used the Shaver Shebang concentrate but only with my Braun stations. It was unfortunately the worst-performing of all the third-party solutions I’ve tried. I still think it should work fairly well with a rotary shaver as the lack of proper lubrication — my main gripe with it — is less of an issue with rotaries compared to foil shavers.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Wayne
For me, it is more trouble than it is worth to open the cartridges. I will just continue to remove the shaver head and rinse it under water. Since I do this after each shave, the Prestige should remain ok. Eventually I will get a Norelco model that uses the quick clean pods. Thanks for being so helpful.
Jay
No problem, Jay. I hear you. Maybe consider Shaver Saver, if you haven’t already. It’s just a spray to lubricate the shaver head. I use it about once a month after rinsing the shaver under the tap. It’s available on Amazon. Braun make a decent one.
Jesus I never knew so much could be written about a shaver but excellent and highly useful review. This shaver has just dropped from 699 to 399 here in NZ so I might buy one. Plus for anyone interested – dermatologists recommend electric shavers over safety razors I have always used due to their unbeatable value.
Thanks so much, Gerry, glad you found the review useful. I try my best to share only the things that I, as an owner and user, consider important for anyone planning to buy that shaver. I actually strive to keep these posts as short as I can. The Prestige is a really good rotary shaver, but it’s usually expensive. Definitely try to buy it at a discount if possible.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hello from France everyone
I’ve been reading this great review and a lot of the comments, thank you for your great work!
I’ve been thinking about buying the s9000 prestige but the lack of cleaning station is a big issue for me so I kept looking into it and found out that there us actually a model sold with a cleaning station.
SP9840/32
It seems to be sold in Belgium and Netherlands but not very widespread in France.
Hope this helps, i’ll try to find out the model of that station.
Hi Pierre,
The SP9840/32 is actually a revised model, different than the Prestige in this review. It comes with angular heads which are not quite as user-friendly, but you will get used to them. Performance-wise is very similar to the one I have. Also the station is not a full-fledged station (it doesn’t even need electricity). It’s called a quick clean pod and you can check out this review for more details on how it works.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu –
I’m currently using the Braun series 9 pro but finding it very difficult to get the hairs on my neck unless I go over my neck with multiple passes and press a little harder. My neck hair does grow in different directions and lyes flat on my neck.
Would I be better off with the Phillips 9000 prestige or would you recommend a different electric razor.
Second question…looking for a recommendation that will shave as close as the Braun.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I’m a bit reluctant to recommend an expensive rotary unless you’ve used a rotary in the past with good results. The S9 Pro is one of the best options for shaving flat neck hairs, so my suggestion would be to try and improve your results with the S9 Pro before buying a new shaver. I recommend using a pre-shave lotion, I like the ones from Speick and Tabac as those work the best for me. Secondly, make sure you’re always going against the grain and keep the skin taut with your free hand (this makes the hairs stand somewhat straight).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi!
I’m also confused with the new Prestige.
It use the angular head and sh91 instead of sh98
Why is that?
Is that a backward move?
I tried the prestige with round jeans and SH98 and liked it but seems that they now only produce/sell the updated prestige with sh91 blades and angular heads
Could you compare the two prestiges style and give us your thoughts on the comfort/convenience of the prestige with SH91 vs the prestige with SH98?
Thanks
Hi Thiery,
It is a slightly backward move, but mainly because of the angular design of the heads, not because of the blades themselves. That is my rather subjective opinion on this. I’ve used both the SH98 and SH91 and the performance is very similar. However, I much prefer the thinner round design of the heads, I think they’re better ergonomically. Philips has made these odd decisions in the past as well with the notorious discontinuation of the RQ8 heads or, more recently, of the excellent Series 6000.
I will be reviewing the new Prestige as well, but not very soon I’m afraid as I already have quite a few other shavers in testing.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I looked on Amazon and Best Buy. Both USA sites no longer offer any Norelco shavers that come with Smart Clean systems. They only seem to offer shavers that use the quick clean pod systems or shavers such as the 6000 or Prestige which don’t come with cleaning systems. It may be different in non-USA sites.
Hi Jay,
That does seem to be the case. And in Europe as well, the only shavers available with a full-fledged cleaner are from the older generations. But there are only a few stores that still have them in stock. So Philips seems to be going in this direction, with either the cleaning pod or nothing at all.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I am about ready to change my shaver. I tried doing the deep cleaning of my Prestige and it was difficult to say the least. I did it! After I finished, the shaver did not shave closely. I put on a new shaver head, but it is still struggled. It seems to lack power. It is almost two years old.
I really would prefer to not do a deep cleaning if i could avoid it. How might the new 9800, with the angular heads work for me? Could I just rinse that under the tap and use the pods? Thanks.
Alternatively I could just stick with the Prestige
Jay, you have a couple of alternative solutions. The old cleaning stations are still available from Amazon (running about $80 US). If you have an older 9000 series shaver (as I do), you can remove the SH98 head from your Prestige and attach it to the older 9000 series shaver and use the cleaner without any issues whatsoever. I know this to be the case because it’s what I do. I went the route of the latest series with the pentagonal shaped heads and returned the shaver before my trial period was over due to the inconvenience that was involved in shaving under the nose and sideburns. I also returned my Prestige after a few weeks since I felt that the shaving experience was not substantially above my older 9000 series (9721) BUT I decided to buy the SH98 head and attach that to my older shaver handle and voila: they worked like a charm. So you have that option “if” you have the older handle available. If not, you can buy the cleaning solution (either the pods or the older cartridges) and empty them into a small Tupperware container and then run your Prestige in that for 30 seconds and leave it to dry on a window ledge. It works. But there is no way that a confirmed Norelco shaver will be completely satisfied with a foil (at least not me and I have both the series 9 Braun and the Arc 5 older Panasonic which shave well but not as closely on my neck or as comfortably as my Norelco). That’s my opinion, mind you, Jay.
Thanks Wayne. Unfortunately I don’t have an older Norelco. The Prestige is my first. Your comments about the angular heads and the new shavers give me pause.
Hi Jay,
I’m sorry about your trouble with cleaning the shaver. I do think however you shouldn’t worry too much about the in-depth cleaning part and just continue using your shaver and clean it the best way you can, even if that’s just rinsing the head under the tap. Not performing a deep cleaning can become a problem in time only when certain conditions are met (like failing to do a quick cleaning after every shave, air humidity, the dust in the environment, and even how oily is the skin of the user). There’s no real reason for concern in my opinion.
Wayne offered a few excellent tips above — thanks so much for taking the time, Wayne — and I must say I feel the same way about 9800 and the angular heads. Some users are bothered by them, some are not, I definitely prefer the thinner rounds heads of the original Prestige. Then again I’m very particular about rotaries, so this may not be an issue for you. The performance itself is similar and even the SH91 blades of the 9800 are almost identical to the ones on the Prestige. The main difference is the design of the heads and of course the cleaning pod shipped with the 9800. Because of that (and of the flip open head), the 9800 does have the advantage when it comes to cleaning, but I really couldn’t say how much you would be bothered by the heads.
I still think you should keep using the Prestige and just rinse it with warm water, it seems to be working great for you. I think the 9800 can be a viable option in the future if for some reason your Prestige isn’t working anymore.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
There seems to be a new version of the Prestige (2022). The picture shows angular head. Not sure if it flips up but I think so. Black.Saw it on the Best Buy Site. Have you heard about it?
Jay
Hi Jay,
I am familiar with it and in every practical way, it’s the same as the 9800 (it even uses the same SH91 blades). It also has the same pros and cons as the 9800 when compared to the original Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
If I were to get a new shaver, should I get the new Prestige or the 9800?
I ordered the new Prestige
Hi Jay,
I personally would have just bought the one I could get a better deal on. As I mentioned in a previous comment, they’re basically the same. Looking forward to your thoughts on it if you have the time.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I received my new Prestige with the angular heads. Before committing, I have a question. The manual says I can clean it under the tap, but suggests that I pull off the upper shaver head holder. Why? Since if you push the button, the head flips up and both upper and lower parts are easily exposed to the water. Once I get the upper shaver head carrier off, I find it very hard to get back on. I would much rather just push the bottom and then put the shaver under the tap since both parts are exposed. What do you think?
I only shaved under my nose and found the angular heads, given proper position to give a much closer under the nose shave.
Also do I need to keep the shaver on the wireless pad all the time? If I want to air dry. That limits me.
More to share after tomorrow’s full shave.
My new Prestige with angular heads. Model 9872/86.
I hope I don’t have to take off the shaver head holder every time to have it air dry after shaving as the manual suggests. Why can’t I just press the button, have it pop open and place it on the charging pad? So far I just press the button. The head opens and i place it on the charging pad.
Shave is superb. Better than former prestige. Gets closer under my nose. Handles jaw line well but not super great. I wonder if I will have an adjustment period? The whole head assembly, along with the top part that holds the heads, flexes more than the previous Prestige. It adapts better to my face contour.
The case is smaller and there is no longer room for the charging pad. Same premium feel as the prior case. Unboxing was the same premium feel. the handle retains its compactness and ergonomic feel. I suspect better than the new 9800. So far a plus for the angular heads. I hope I can easily replace the heads in a year if two. So far a plus. Closer overall shave.
Hi Jay,
First of all, congrats on your new shaver — I’m glad that my main concern regarding the angular heads didn’t prove to be an issue. It’s a new shaver with sharp blades and fresh guards, so the shave should be better compared to your old Prestige.
You can disregard the part where it says to remove the shaving unit completely. You can just flip the head open for cleaning and you can also leave it that way on the pad while charging. That system is there for a reason and you should take advantage of it. In fact, the head should be pulled out from the main body only when you want better access to the blades (for example when you want to replace them). Speaking of which, these are no different than other Norelco blades and should last the standard 24 months.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
How long do I need to air dry?
Hi Jay,
I usually leave all my shavers with the head removed/opened overnight. It should be more than enough for any moisture to evaporate.
Regarding any potential upgrades to the new Prestige, it’s really not surprising that these seem rather incremental. The flexing on the original Prestige head was rather stiff and the range of motion was a bit limited, so they probably addressed it. I do plan on reviewing the new iteration, but it will take some time as I have around 5 shavers in testing which are long overdue. I would also like to thoroughly test (and review) the new 9500 so I can compare it to the updated Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi, Jay. Congratulations on your new Prestige shaver. I hope it works well for you. I’m confused as to why you didn’t just go with the 9500 series which has the exact same head as the much more expensive Prestige that you purchased. The only real difference (other than the exorbitant price differentiation) between the two is a slightly more ergonomic handle on the Prestige but not enough, in my estimation, to warrant that price jump. The shaves between the two (9500 and the newer Prestige) should be identical (same head) and both will allow cleaning by simply flipping open the heads so I’m perplexed why you would opt for the Prestige. When I had the 9500 series with the octagonal heads, I found I had to turn the shaver head on its side to get under the nose as well as the sideburns and that turning of the shaver bothered my arthritic wrist so that after a few weeks I just gave up and returned it since the round heads did not require that maneuvering. As far as shaving closeness, I did not find any difference between the SH91 and SH98 heads. Personally, I shave daily so a deep clean is not a concern. I rinse the shaver head under the tap and leave it to air dry. Once every other week I will run it on the old cleaning station or in the Tupperware container if I don’t want it to charge in the station. If I did not have that cleaning station, I would just buy some shaver saver spray and once every other week I’d spray the heads to lubricate them. The truth is, even that is unnecessary, but some men like to do this. Anyway, I hope it all works out for you. I remember that your counter space is limited so hopefully this will work out. I’ll be curious to see how things go as the weeks pass.
Hi Wayne
I purchased the Prestige b/c it was available for next day delivery and got the best reviews from Best Buy. Also there was a $20 discount. Amazon did not offer the shaver do I had no comparison.
I just press the button. The head flips open and I let it air dry on the wireless charger. My counter space is limited but only for width. The wireless charger nicely fits in. That has ruled out the Braun because the cleaning station is too wide.
I liked the idea of a more compact handle than the 9500 or 9800. I liked the Prestige handle. so I figured the new Prestige was a safe bet. The 9500 and 9800 come with the pods, which I am not sure I could manage. also I do not like the ongoing expense of pods or cartridges. I spoke to Norelco who said I could skip the deep cleaning because of my vision and coordination and just run the shaver under water. We shall see.
M
There is conflicting information about head replacement. The manual said 12 months. Other places from Norelco say 24 months. A Norelco senior staff person I spoke to today, confirmed 24 months.
Compared to the older Prestige, both the total head unit and the upper part flex more. So far, contouring to my face is better. Sometimes there is a slight rattle depending on how I hold the shaver. Most times not. It is really quiet. I only have it 2 days. Very early. I wish there was an optional stand that would hold the shaver vertical which might make air dry easier. I think it shaves closer than my previous Prestige. My observations so far.
Ovidiu
I am not sure what new technology beyond the angular shape and SH91 heads are in this revised version. The suspension, where the whole shaving head, top and bottom, where you pull it off to put on the trimmer, seems different and more flexible. I am not sure what Eisenhower has changed. Do you plan on reviewing it?
Ah… thanks for the update. I’m glad this works for you. We all have different requirements and mine was dictated by the shape of those oddly shaped heads. Try as I might, I found it took too much effort to clean up under the nose and the sideburns which is why I returned it. But it seems that this is not a problem for you so that’s great. Best wishes going forward. Keep us updated over the coming weeks.
Wayne
I get a closer shave with the angular heads. Also the flexibility of the whole head assembly (top and bottom) is way improved. Ovidiu thought it might be due to the fact the heads are brand new, compared to my former Prestige. Not so b/c I changed the head in my former Prestige shortly before I purchased the new shaver. The new model simply does better on my face. I love the wireless charging pad, but I I think air drying at times would be easier if I could stand the shaver upright.
Completely agree regarding the air-drying comment. With my older 9721 I have a charging stand (wish I could insert a picture to show some of these things). On a daily basis I rinse the heads under a tap, shake off the excess water and place it in the stand. I never use the stand for its intended use (i.e. charging) but instead use the old cleaning station about once every two to three weeks to both clean, lubricate and charge the shaver. I’m surprised Philips did not make a charging stand for the Prestige. I wonder if the charging stand for the 9500 series would fit the Prestige, if not to charge then at least to hold the shaver upright to air dry it?
Hi Ovidiu
the blades from my angular Prestige are supposed to last 24 months. Is this dependent on frequency of shaving? If I shave daily rather than every other day, will I need to replace the blades more frequently?
Jay
Hi Jay,
In short, yes, if you use any shaver more often you would need to replace the blades sooner. However, it’s not a linear correlation — if you shave daily instead of every other day, it doesn’t mean you will need to replace them twice as often. It’ll probably be somewhat more often. I wouldn’t let this influence how often I shave, especially since rotary blades aren’t as susceptible to wear as the blades of foil razors.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
Most days I shave every other day. Sometimes daily, if I am going somewhere.
Jay
Jay, I’ve never worried about replacing blades and/or cartridge cleaner. My attitude in that regard is: I have one face that can’t be replaced. So, I try and take care of it as best I can. I waste money on far less important things so spending some dollars on my face is never a consideration. I shave daily, pretty much because I enjoy it. I consider (tongue in cheek here, Jay) my salute to manhood! It’s my daily celebration: I’m male and I like to shave my face. So, I replace my blades a minimum of every year. I always use the best balm I can buy for my skin afterwards. I’m fairly certain my wife appreciates that I take care of that face that God gave me. Enjoy your shaver and your shaving experience.
Good Morning Wayne. What a lovely post! What after shave balm do you use?
Jay
I use Clinique Shaver Soother. Great stuff.
Hi, Jay. I use Duke Cannon Ice-Cold Aftershave. It’s alcohol-free, Paraben-free and Sulfate-free. It’s Bergamot and Sandalwood fragrance with Shea Butter to hydrate. Honestly, I love this stuff since it leaves my face cool to the touch and feeling amazingly alive. Check it out on Amazon (five out of five star rating).
Hey, Jay. Being bored (sigh) I decided to re-order the 9500 Norelco (s9985) to see how it compared up against my older 9721 fitted with the SH98 heads. After using it for two weeks I’ve made these observations. 1) the SH91 heads provide a more comfortable (and strangely, closer) shave although not by much. This really surprised me, I have to admit. 2) the handle is definitely more difficult to hold given that it is not nearly as ergonomically friendly as my older 9721 Norelco. Is it a deal-breaker? No, I believe that I’ve grown used to it during the two week trial period. 3) the pentagonal heads do not prevent close shaving under the nose and alongside the ears “if” you turn the shaver 90 degrees to get the closest distance to the cutting heads. Is this easy to do? Yes… but it is a bit awkward. Again, I believe it will be adapted to over time. 4) the cleaning module as opposed to the cleaning station, is much easier to use and takes up far less space than the older cleaning station so that is a plus. 5) I already had a charging stand from something Norelco sent to me back when I was communicating with them on another issue. I love that it allows me to air dry the shaver after an hour of dripping off in the cleaning module. If you just leave it in the cleaning module, the shaver head does not dry out completely so the charging stand does double duty and is a must in this regard. 6) flipping open the head assembly as opposed to having to pull the entire top off on the older SH98 heads (as well as flipping up the trimmer as opposed to removing and re-attaching a trimmer on the older 9721 or Prestige) is a far better system and I believe over time will add to the newer 9500 shaver’s lifetime. At this point, I’m inclined to keep it although I have two weeks left in my trial period. You made a good call, it seems to me, in trading in your Prestige for this shaver.
Hi Wayne
I traded my old Prestige for the New Prestige with the pentagonal heads. Same wireless charging pad. At this point it is only available from BB and not Amazon. However Amazon will supposedly sell a version of the Prestige with the quick clean pod as of mid April. I am not sure it will include a charging stand. So far, only the 9800 includes the charging stand. This variability is maddening.
Okay, Jay. That makes a good deal of sense to me. Having the head of the 9500 series which flips open to clean as well as having the pop up trimmer as opposed to having to remove the head to clean and attach a trimmer is certainly a benefit. And having the handle of the Prestige as opposed to the less ergonomic handle on this 9500 series is also a benefit (hugely so for me). But as you mention, it is very odd that Norelco would not provide a charging stand for the new Prestige. You’ve found a sort of compromise that works for you. I’m still in the process of trying to determine if my older hands can handle this less ergonomic handle on the 9500 series. I’ll wait another week.
I don’t have hand arthritis do that is not an issue for me. I may eventually get the 9800 which is like the 9500, but includes a charging stand. My new Prestige includes the wireless charging pad which I like and fits on my limited counter space. Unfortunately this new Prestige with the angular head, is not compatible with the quick clean pods. I would Need to switch to the 9800 for that.
Hi Jay,
Just a side note — your SP9872/86 is not compatible with the pods because I think it lacks the middle splined shaft that powers the pod. I don’t have one, so maybe you can confirm that it’s missing. It’s like this small metal thing right at the center of the head (here it is on my 9500). The other new Prestige with the angular heads, SP9841/84, does come with the cleaning pod and features that thing at the center of the head.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I have the new Prestige with the angular head and the wireless charging pad. It gives a close shave. Would I gain anything from the 8800 which includes a charging stand and quick clean pod. But is more bulky. Should I just keep what I have and like?
Jay
Hi Jay,
I think you meant the 9800? I’d say yes, definitely keep your new Prestige. The stand is just the standard Norelco charging stand shipped with all their shavers (even the inferior series) and it’s also available separately. The only pros of the regular new Series 9000 with the angular heads are the price (cheaper than the new Prestige) and the pod which from what I recall you said you were not sure you would use. The handle of the Prestige is also more ergonomic. It seems like it’s a great fit for you with the charging pad as well, so my advice would be to keep it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Norelco’s numbering system is extremely confusing to me. The newer 9500 series shaver that I recently bought and am still trying out before making a decision to keep or return, bears the number s9985. If it’s the 9500 series why are they calling it s9985 instead of s9585? I’ve seen this multiple times before and it has always confused me. Anyway, I will always be a rotary shaver fan but I have to admit that nothing is perfect and there will always be trade-offs. I went for an eye examination the other day. I’m sure most here have done this as well. You sit and look at a row of letters and then they try different lens strengths and ask which is clearer… A or B? After several minutes of this it becomes almost impossible to distinguish between one lens and the next. That is exactly how I currently feel with my current stable of Norelcos: AT830 (too harsh on the throat), 9721 (now fitted with the SH98 heads… almost perfect for shaving BUT it’s getting old, I want to be able to flip up the head and the trimmer instead of removing it entirely), s9985 or 9500 series (handle too fat and lacking shape for holding making the shaver difficult to maneuver for shaving under the nose and ears because of the pentagonal-shaped heads). Every last one of the shavers gives me a decent shave… a quiet shave… a reasonably comfortable shave BUT every one of them has a downside so what to do… like the eye examination is it A or B? Ha!
Hi Wayne,
I fully agree. Norelco does that weird name thing with all their current shavers. There’s a broad Series category, like Series 3000 or Series 9000, then an easy-to-remember model like the 9500 and a third very specific model name (that varies for country or color/options) like S9985/84. This is so unnecessary and confusing for the buyer.
In my opinion the ideal high-end rotary would be the old Prestige (with the conventional heads) + a flip-open head and an integrated hair trimmer like the 9500. I can live with the less ergonomic handle of the 9500, it’s that big slab of a head that bothers me the most.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
I checked the shaver head. It has what you note. However mine is more of a light silver color. That not withstanding, the manual makes no mention of a quick clean pod. Nor does Norelco offer it as an accessory. Should I just stick with what I have as it is giving a fine and close shave.
Jay
Hi Jay,
As I mentioned above in this comment, I’d say yes, definitely keep it. Since it has that shaft that powers the pump, it will most likely work with a pod even if Philips doesn’t explicitly mention it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
I like the fact that the handle of the new prestige with angular head is more compact than the 9500 handle. I am not bothered by the Q1 charging pad. It fits on my limited counter space. I like that I can just put the shaver on it and it charges without having to plug in the power cord every time I charge. For some strange reason I get a closer shave with the angular head. Better under the nose as long as I rotate the shaver.
The closer shave under the nose is something I also experienced but not, however, under the ears where the jawline is. I do not like the thick handle on the 9500 series shaver and as the days of my trying this shaver out are coming to an end I’m inclined to give up and return to my 9721 with sh98 heads. It has the ergonomic handle, the cleaning station and a charging stand from my at830 that holds it. And I would save the $200 as well. The shaving difference between the sh91 and sh98 is negligible so that is not a concern. The attraction of the Prestige over the older 9721 with the sh98 head is also cancelled out. Fortunately I have a wife who is amused by my angst.
Wayne
I hope you resolve this long term. I have come to realize there is no perfect shaver. I have tried a variety of Braun and Norelco and have settled on the Q1 Prestige with the angular head. All are a compromise of one sort or another. Some shave closer, some handle difficult areas better. Some are more rugged and some are more costly to maintain on an ongoing basis. The compromises and resulting choices are more evident when disability gets factored in or space restriction. I have spent more on different shavers than I care to admit to and I plan to stick with my current choice. Hope you find one for the long haul.
Hi,
Getting a close shave is a big issue for me.
Using blades is not a good option for, as I have sensitive skin, and have to let the skin recover after using a blade.
I am currently using the Panasonic arc5, after many years that I have sticked to Philips rotary shavers. From my experience, the arc5 does a great job on the cheeks, however not so good on the neck…
Due to that, I find my self using 2 shavers at each shave. Arc5 for the 1st round, and my old Philips 9321 for getting a closer shave at the neck.
Do you think that buying the 9000 prestige will end the double machines shaving days for me?
Thanks,
Amir
Hi Amir,
I honestly doubt the Prestige can get as close as the Arc 5 on the cheeks. However, it just might shave close enough. In my opinion the main advantage of the Prestige over the old Series 9000 like yours is the comfort, not the closeness. It will of course shave closer if the blades and guards of your 9321 are worn out, but again, that can easily be solved without needing to buy a new shaver.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Update: 9500 series shaver returned. In the final analysis I could not comfortably grip it and the turning of the shaver to shave under the nose was too awkward. In addition I was never able to get a clean shave under the ears at the jawline as I can do quite easily with the 9721 and sh98 heads. Since I have the older cleaning station, buying the 9500 series was pretty much meaningless other than experimenting with the technology. So, until Norelco come up with a Prestige that has a cleaning station, a built in trimmer and sh98 circular heads, I’ll remain content with what I have.
Ovidiu
Would you recommend a Pre-Shave with my new Prestige with Angular heads? In the past I have used the Lab Series electric shaver solution. I need a product that is close to fragrance free and in a plastic bottle. .
Thanks
Jay
Hi Jay,
I’m afraid the Lab Series is still the only one that fits the requirements. I personally like the Speick pre-shave the most, it just works better than everything I’ve tried, but it comes in a glass bottle and is definitely not fragrance-free. Lectric Shave comes in a plastic bottle but it has a really strong (and not very appealing) fragrance, while the Afta pre-shave is just not good enough (and also has a potent scent). So Lab Series is the only option. It does have a slight fragrance, but it’s not from added perfume, but rather from the (natural) ingredients.
It was rebranded and now comes in a matte grey plastic bottle, but the solution is exactly the same as before.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
Is a pre-shave beneficial with the Norelco shavers?
Jay
Hi Jay,
Generally it is beneficial with any shavers, but that’s not set in stone. For example, the one from Tabac just dries the skin excessively which makes moving the shaving head jittery. It’s not a problem when I use a foil shaver for example.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Maybe I shouldn’t stick my nose in here (but I’ll throw caution to the wind…haha). I rarely use a pre-shave but the few times I do it’s almost always Speick. The reason I’ll go with a pre-shave has to do with the timing of the shave. If I shave after a shower and breakfast, I’ll go with a pre-shave and as I’ve said, I seldom shave after the shower. I do this because the shower removes the natural facial oils and causes the shaver’s head to not glide well on my face as well as the beard to not stand up as well. For years my shave has generally been before my shower. I’ll just give my face a bit of a rub and start in and within 4 to 5 minutes it’s done (plus the bathroom is still moisture free which can also affect the way the shaver’s head will glide or drag). I guess we’re all different. For me, pre-shave isn’t generally necessary and I suspect that is the case for most men. But timing of one’s shave might determine whether its use can be helpful. Just a thought here.
Hi Wayne,
Great point, a pre-shave can be very handy to counter some of the post-shower issues when shaving dry. I always say that everyone should try it — can’t really tell how much of a difference it will make.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
I tried the lab Series electric pre-shave. Not for me. It was worth a try. I am finding that fewer lotions is better for me. I might try not using any for a while and see how I do. The next day when I shave, I can always feel the after affects of product, even though I shave before showering. You would think all the lotions would completely wash off in the shower. Go figure.
BTW, Bestbuy is treating the original Q1 Prestige as a clearance item. The price is a good deal for someone not wanting the angular head model.
Jay
Hi Jay,
It has a rather oily texture and it’s the reason why I prefer the Speick and Tabac lotions over the Lab Series. But I suggested it because it is the only one without perfume added and that also comes in a plastic bottle. But if your shave isn’t any better then you’re not missing out on anything.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
You are correct. My skin feels more oily, even after showering.
Jay
Another question for you, Ovidiu. I’m a bit concerned about your report on the discontinuation of the SH98 blades. Will the newer SH91/52 blades fit onto the head of the Prestige and the older 9721 Norelcos?
Hi Wayne,
I already replied to your comment here, but in short, yes, the SH91 will fit the Prestige and the older Series 9000 just fine. In fact, the SH91 is the official replacement part for the old Prestige on Philips UK.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks again, Ovidiu. Again, I’ll register my shock at Norelco for discontinuing the SH98 blades after such a short period. As for the SH91 blades, the only good thing I found about the 9500 series shaver I had (s9985) was the blades. The shape of the handle was far too straight and thick for my hand, the light system to indicate proper pressure was a gimmick (fine for newbies I suppose) and the silly cleaning pod compared to my older cleaning station was a joke. However, now that I can safely install the SH91 heads on my older 9721 handle, I’ll be a very happy camper with the best of all worlds.
No problem. I agree, I’m not a fan of the handle or of the large heads for that matter. An old Series 9000 with SH91 heads (and a cleaning station) is a great combo.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
What is the difference between the sh91/72 and the sh91/52 heads?
Jay
Hi Jay,
I only know of the SH90/72 (old generation Series 9000). Can you share a link maybe or a product listing of some online store? The SH91 and SH91/52 refer to the same blades (the 52 part doesn’t even show up on the packaging).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu
When I do a Google search it now only comes up as sh91/52.
Jay
Question: Will the latest Prestige with the head similar to the 9500 series shavers, work in the cleaning pods that come with that newer series given that it has the same head assembly?
I think I’ve seen the answer to my own question. Evidently Amazon will begin selling it on the 12th “with” the cleaning pod. So, the next question would be – would this 9500 series head that the new Prestige comes with be able to detach and a head with the older SH98 blades be able to attach so that the two heads are interchangeable? That way one might have two shavers in one, so to speak, and the best of both worlds.
Hi Wayne,
Yes, the new Prestige will work with the cleaning pods.
Regarding your question, I think the answer to that would be yes. I cannot say with certainty as I haven’t got the new Prestige yet. The fitting is identical, however, the head of the old Prestige (rounded, with the SH98 blades) will not work with the 9500 for example because the support strut is way too short and can’t reach far enough into the mounting fixture. Here’s a side-by-side shot that I think shows that better than I can explain.
It is my guess that the new Prestige will retain the same type of fixture as the old Prestige and won’t be as deep as the one on the 9500, so an old head will still fit fine.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for this information, Ovidiu. The photograph showing the mounting fixtures was very informative.
As I look at the Norelco line, having been a Norelco user for many decades, I’m discouraged by what I’m seeing. This newer version of the Prestige is a sort of Frankenstein device cobbled together, it seems to me, in order to silence the complaints from many users (i.e. lack of a pop-up trimmer, necessity of having to remove head to clean as opposed to simply clicking open the flip-top release on the head as in past Norelcos, lack of a cleaning station, less ergonomic handle and so forth). So Philips designers have taken the head of the newer 9500 series and cobbled it onto the Prestige line to silence those complaints. And while it does, to an extent, answer some of those complaints, it fails to really address the deeper issue: terrible design.
A cleaning pod is not a cleaning station. My old cleaning station is far better at cleaning my 9721 than the pod is at cleaning the 9500 series shaver. A pentagonal head cannot be used as easily as a rounded head assembly under the nose or the ears. A flag-ship shaver should have a built-in trimmer as well as the ability to flip open the head for cleaning rather than having to be removed and refitted with the trimmer. The handle needs to be ergonomic… not straight and without indentations for fingers for ease of holding the shaver. The shaver needs to be charged from a cord rather than our having to drag a Chi pad with us while on vacation? And speaking of the Chi charging pad, it is far too much of a space hog, both on the counter where a vertical charging stand would make better use of space or in a travel bag where it necessitates a much larger bag.
Overall, Philips/Norelco have dropped the ball and it is because of this neglect that I’ll continue with my older (much more ergonomic) 9721 fitted with the rounded SH98 heads. And sadly, when these become unavailable I’ll fit the SH91 blades into the rounded, not pentagonal, head assembly on my 9721 shaver which happily has a real cleaning station, is ergonomic, has rounded heads, has a vertical charging stand that takes up less counter space and requires a much smaller travel bag.
Maybe in a few years Philips will finally get it right.
You are very welcome. I agree and it makes perfect sense. With the old Prestige that came with the charging pad you could remove the plate covering the charging port and use the wired charger, I’m not sure if the new one will still allow this hack.
The body of the new Prestige appears to have that indentation on the back which should allow for a better grip compared to the 9500. The main drawback in my opinion is the presence of the large angular heads, even though the new Prestige does address some of the old nuisances (lack of a flip open head, no pop-up trimmer). I don’t think Philips is planning on ever releasing a new shaver that would work with a full-fledged cleaning station, so it’s either the pod or no cleaning device at all.
The SH91 will be a good alternative to the SH98, performance-wise I feel they’re extremely similar.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Questions: 1) is the handle on the latest iteration of the Prestige identical to the earlier version(s)? 2) would the pentagonal head on the latest Prestige fit onto an earlier Prestige handle? 3) what is your guess for Philips reason for discontinuing the SH98 blades after such a short run? 4) what is the exact difference between the SH98 and SH91 heads and since they are different which shaves closest and which is more comfortable?
Hi Wayne,
1. I’d say yes, at least from the official photos it looks like the same design approach. I haven’t got the new one yet, so I’m not 100% certain.
2. My guess is again that yes, it should fit just fine.
3. Difficult to say exactly. I don’t think it’s cutting production costs as I don’t feel the SH91 are a step down in any regard. I think Philips is moving exclusively to the pentagonal head design and went with a different part number for the blades. I’ve used both quite a lot and while at first I would still rate the SH98 higher (slightly smoother and more effective), I think I was just a bit biased. I honestly can’t find any noticeable differences now.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
An addendum to my previous post: Since the latest Prestige and the 9500 series shavers (i.e. s9985/84) use identical heads, would it be safe to conclude that there is essentially no substantial difference in the shaves provided by each? The only real difference might be in the intensity levels provided on the Prestige but then the 9500 series claims to be powered by AI and therefore will change its delivery based upon (I guess) the beard. For the life of me I cannot see any reason to pay an extra $100+ for the Prestige over the 9500 series shaver based upon the actual shave they provide. The only real differences might be in the comfort of the more ergonomic handle on the Prestige vs the built-in trimmer on the 9500 series shaver in addition to the 9500 series having a charger allowing vertical charging on the counter taking up less space. Given that both trimmers are generally viewed as terrible (I never use mine but rather the trimmer on the Panasonic if I need it) it seems the 9500 series shavers might actually have a leg up in the choice between the two. At this point, my older 9721 fitted with SH98 heads (and capable of the newer SH91) is definitely superior to either.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s actually the conclusion of my 9500 review (work in progress, should be up next week). My old Prestige feels maybe slightly more powerful than the 9500 on the highest speed setting and the new Prestige will likely feel the same. But it’s such a subtle difference that I don’t think it’s worth mentioning, let alone spending a lot of money on it. The shape of the handle and likely a more premium feel in the hand are the main pros of the new Prestige.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Wayne
Correction if I may. The 9500 does not come with a vertical charging stand. I think you have to lay it down on the counter and plug the cord in. The new 9800, however on Amazon, does seem to include a vertical charging stand. It seems that you connect the power cord to the included charging stand.
Regarding the handles for the old and new version of the Prestige, while I no longer have the older version, the handles, from memory, strike me as identical.
Regarding the Q1 charging pad and the 9500, with the 9500, you have to disconnect the power cord every time you shave, since there is no vertical charging stand. You don’t need to do that with the Q1 version. Granted, it may be a travel hassle, but I think most men use the shaver more frequently when not traveling.
Hi Jay.
The problem here is in the way Norelco names these devices. The s9987/85 is part of the 9500 series. This was the shaver I had tried out for about a month before returning due to the handle being uncomfortable for my arthritic hand. It does come with a charging stand and in fact that charging stand is available from Philips (even Amazon I believe) for about $30 as is the cleaning pod. Wally World sell the 9400 series (which is essentially the same shaver as the 9500 models) with the only difference that it does not have the pressure sensor and lighting indicators (gimmicky in my view) nor the cleaning pod or charging stand but as I mentioned, those can be purchased separately. Costco sell a similar shaver named the 9600 series which is identical to the 9400 series but has some additional accessories. All of these series (9400, 9500, 9600 with their various models within) are basically the same shaver and the accessories can be purchased to sort of upgrade them.
So me, Jay, I found that in the end result there was no value in upgrading to either the Prestige or the 9500 series. The only value I might find in the Prestige was the SH98 blades but this was negated when I discovered I could mount those blades on my older 9721 (and now I’ve discovered I can do the same with the newer SH91 blades). There was absolutely no benefit in upgrading to the 9500 series due to the terrible handle design. For you it’s more about counter space. For me it is more about my being able to hold the shaver with comfort. I found I could not turn the pentagonal head with the 9500 series in a comfortable way so in the end even the newer Prestige with that head would be of no interest to me. I’m hopeful that Ovidiu is wrong about the future of Philips blade heads being pentagonal. If this actually becomes the case, I’d probably go the route of eBay to find older models. Hey, I’m an older guy anyway so I’m probably good to the last curtain call. haha
BTW… for those interested… Costco here in the US recently reduced the price of the Norelco Prestige (older head with Qi charging pad) by $60 bringing it down to $220. At such a substantial reduction, I might have to purchase it due to the age of my 9721. They must be preparing for the arrival of the newer Prestige with the pentagonal head.
Hello Mr. Nicolae,
First of all excellent website, thank you for your hard work. I just tried a Braun Series 9 Pro it left my neck prickly and it struggled with some errant hairs. So I am going to try the Prestige 9000 next but there appears to be a new model with a blocky head so you can use a quick clean pod, which I like the option but I worry the larger head won’t let me shave my upper lip well. Would your review of the original Prestige apply to the new variant with the square head?
Hi Allen,
Thank you for the comment, much appreciated.
Your observation is very accurate and while I haven’t tried the new Prestige with the large angular heads, I did test the new Series 9000 which uses an identical blocky head and I must say the old Prestige is clearly easier to use and more manageable.
However, I would still recommend giving the 9 Pro a few more tries before buying another shaver. Try using shorter, controlled strokes, making sure you’re adjusting the direction to always go against the hair grain. That is really important in order to get a clean shave. A pre-shave lotion (like the one from Speick) can also help.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu: could you speak for a moment to the issue of charging the Prestige shaver which comes with the Qi charging pad. First off, since the battery is a lithium battery, I’ve been told that it cannot overcharge. I’ve also been told that with lithium batteries, unlike Nickel Cadmium and Nickel-Metal Hydride they should not be discharged too far. Is this information correct? Now given that the Prestige fits nicely on the Qi pad whose cord is permanently attached, is it wise to unplug it and keep it unplugged until the shaver has at least partially spent its charge over several days as opposed to leaving the Qi plugged in and daily having the shaver recharged to full capacity? Thanks.
Hi Wayne,
Ideally, with any battery the charge should be kept between 20% and 80%, which will give you the best chance of slowing down the deterioration (which always happens in time with any rechargeable battery). That said, it’s not very practical for most users and the difference won’t be huge. You can detach the cord if it’s not too much trouble, but I wouldn’t be too worried if you choose to always leave it plugged in. A partial charge is just a partial charge, it doesn’t count as a full one, so it’s not an issue like it used to be back in the day with the older types. The best part about the charging pad is convenience, so I personally wouldn’t bother with plugging and unplugging and just enjoy the wireless charging feature.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I have used a Prestige with the Q1 charging pad for almost two years. When I shave, I just lift the shaver off the pad. Without having to disconnect the cable. That convenience is worth any small degradation in battery. Same with my iPhone and Apple Watch. I gave up a long time ago worrying about charging regimes. I always charge wireless.
I fully agree, Jay. You should really take advantage of the convenience of the pad, that is in my opinion the whole purpose of getting it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Okay. Thanks, guys, for the education. I’m still stuck in the old ways (being an old guy…haha) so it’s always good to be updated by those in the know. 🙂 And now given the cheap price of the Prestige with the SH98 heads at Costco, I’ve purchased one that should arrive tomorrow (and yes, it has the Qi charging pad).
Hi Wayne
I hope you stick with the Prestige for a while. I have found there is no perfect shaver. I have also found the same with pre-shave and post-shave products. All this is a balance of strengths and weaknesses. Enjoy the shaver. I hope you keep it. Some products work better with the Prestige than others.
Thanks, Jay. I’ll definitely keep it this time. My old 9721 is not going to last forever and the reduced price on this Prestige convinced me to just go with it this time with no guilty feelings. You nailed it when you said that there is no perfect shaver and no perfect pre or post shave products. Everything has trade-offs; absolutely everything. 🙂
There is a newer version of this shaver on Amazon in the United States. The model reviewed here is a 9000 Prestige, but Amazon said there’s a newer version which they label as the S9000 Prestige. The shaving heads look different, so I know it is not just a nomenclature change but an actual change.
Hi David,
That is true, there is a new Prestige generation with a new head design. I haven’t got that one yet, but in the meantime, you can check out my review of the new standard Series 9000 that features the same head and it will likely shave very much the same. In that review I refer a lot to both the old and the new Prestige models.
The Prestige is a subseries of the Series 9000 which is often written in shorthand as S9000 or just 9000 — but it refers to the same range of shavers.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
If you’re interested in the Prestige, David, you might want to try and grab the older model while it is still on sale and being cleared from most large stores (i.e. Amazon, Costco, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond). Costco had the older model 9860/85 on for $220 last week. It’s likely become a clearance item and the sale will last until the stock is gone.
Question: Do you know, Ovidiu, if the handle on the newest Prestige is the same handle used on the older version Prestige?
Wayne
I don’t have the old one any more to compare, but my memory says they feel the same.
Thanks, Jay. When you look at them, they appear to be identical which suggests that the cleaning pod should work with the Prestige that you have.
BTW: a couple of things that I’ve noticed so far with the Prestige I now have. First off, unlike my older 9721, the Prestige does not give me the percentage of charge when lifted or shoved “unless” I actually turn it on. Not that it matters since turning it on and giving me the charge is fine with me. I just found that odd. Secondly, I had my first shave this morning after breakfast and it was pretty doggon awesome. Honestly, I’m sitting here at 5:52 p.m. and my face still feels smooth. I’m seriously blown away. Thirdly, it has completely disappeared from Costco (the older model SH9860) after just a couple of days. I must have purchased one of the final (if not last) shavers before their stock was depleted. I guess it was meant to be, eh?! I’m glad I listened to you and took the dive one final time. BTW: my wife told me she would kill me if I returned it AND dump all my other shavers when I wasn’t home. In other words… her patience has run out which is saying a lot. 😉
My husband feels the same. He does not want me to keep buying shavers and lotions. I am trying to see how my face does without anything. I find all the lotions affect the Prestige. Some Morse so than others, but I have not found any to be free from some adverse effect.
Hi Jay,
It seems like you’re just better off without any pre-shave lotion at all which is actually fortunate. Additional products make sense when they actually provide a benefit, otherwise the fewer the better.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
I can only say from the official product photos for the moment, but as Jay said, they appear to be the same.
@Wayne: that is awesome, congrats on your new (old) Prestige. Enjoy shaving with it, it looks like you got a winner. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks for the good wishes. I’m really enjoying this Prestige. The shaves have been close and comfortable and the handle is beautifully ergonomic (no problem holding it comfortably unlike the 9500 series shaver). I do not miss having the cleaning station since the cleanup has amounted to popping off the head, running it under the tap and then setting it on the charging pad to air dry (the head I prop in a small Dixie cup separate from the handle). I intend to spray it periodically with Shaver Saver. All in all… I’m actually very contented with this shaver. 🙂
Sounds great, Wayne. The Shaver Saver spray is still my favorite out of everything I’ve tried, unfortunately it got discontinued (and was already difficult for me to source). I haven’t been able to buy one for the last couple of years or even more. I’m currently using the Andis CoolCare Plus and Clippercide which are pretty good as well.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu: if you have time, could you explain in a bit more detail the charging of a Lithium-Ion battery. My understanding is that this type cannot be overcharged and that it does not develop a memory. What it does have is a built in number of recharges after which it will be permanently spent and need replacing. If I understand this correctly, it essentially makes worrying about unplugging the Qi charging pad so as to allow the battery to drain a bit, a rather meaningless exercise. And in addition, from what I learned, the 9860 shaver shuts off 15 minutes after reaching a 100% charge. Okay… where am I right or where am I going wrong with this information? Thanks.
Or… another way to put this is: Jay’s method is best when he lets his shaver fully charge each day because of the properties of the Lithium-Ion battery and the knowledge that the shaver will shut off after 15 minutes when fully charged. Hence… leave the Qi plugged in a don’t sweat the charging. Yes?
Oh.. and one more thing (wish I could edit my former post but …): If it’s true that a Lithium-Ion battery has a built-in number of recharges, then in a sense it “would matter” if you recharged it every day as opposed to every other day. For example: if the battery had a 1000 recharges built in… and you recharged it every day… that would essentially mean that the battery would be spent in about 3 years whereas if you charged it every other day, that number would double. If that were the case, then it would seem to suggest that perhaps it is not wise to recharge the shaver every single night. Again… I’m confused by this.
Hi Wayne,
That is correct, the electronics are smart enough not to overcharge the battery. The only reason for not wanting to charge the battery to 100% (and not letting it drain completely) has to do with reducing the physical stress and some subsequent chemical reactions that will occur when the battery is completely drained and aren’t beneficial. When a battery is fully charged, it actually gets a bit larger and it shrinks when there’s no charge at all. I know this sounds weird, but it’s factually true. These differences in size aren’t of course massive and I personally don’t think it’s something we as users should worry about. But again, if you absolutely want to maximize the potential lifespan of a battery, you should aim to keep the charge somewhere between 20% and 80% to avoid the aforementioned issue and still be able to use your device in a practical manner.
A charging cycle counts only when it’s the equivalent of a 0 to 100% charge. For example, if you charge your shaver one day from 0 to 100%, that’s one cycle. But if you charge it from 0 to 50% on day one, then again from 0 to 50% the next day, that’s still one cycle over the course of those two days. Hope this makes sense.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Okay. I think I’ve grasped the concept (as best I can at my age…;-)). Bottom line for me in reading this is: the differences in the expansion and shrinking of the battery creating some stress are relatively small but will play some part in the deterioration of the battery in its life. It seems to me, given that my circumstances are different than Jay’s (I have a large counter with double sink… wife at one end and me at the other) that a better plan is to simply leave the Qi unplugged, when I’m done shaving and rinsing, rest the shaver on the unplugged pad and then carry on for a week like this. After a week of shaving, simply plugging it in overnight will get it back to 100% and going forward I repeat this pattern. After all… what is the issue for me with leaving it unplugged and then shoving the plug back in once a week? Does that make sense in my situation?
That’s definitely a good approach if you don’t mind the plugging/unplugging (it’s only once a week after all).
In fact, it is the ideal way to use any device fitted with a rechargeable battery, but for many users, it’s not always practical to do this.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Father’s Day special so I ordered (and received) the new Prestige with the pentagonal head (I know, Ovidiu… what AM I doing?… haha). Anyway, it’s so much easier to hold than the 9500 series that I tried on two separate occasions to hold because of its ergonomic handle. As for the pentagonal heads, with the handle it is much easier to rotate them 90 degrees in order to take care of the upper lip and the sideburn areas so that is not an issue. Today, I thought… what the heck. Let’s see if the head from my older 9721 with the SH98 blades will work on the newer Prestige handle. And they did beautifully. So… would the pentagonal heads work on the 9721 handle? Yup. No issue whatsoever. No grinding… nothing but smooth cutting. Would I ever use the pentagonal heads on the 9721? No reason to do that BUT I certainly would consider using the round heads with the SH98 heads on the Prestige from time to time. So… there you have it. Will I keep the new Prestige? Well… I ordered two cleaning cassettes so I guess the answer is: YES.
Hi Wayne,
Thanks so much for the feedback. As someone who owns dozens of shavers, I’m not one to judge. 🙂
It’s great to have the confirmation that the heads fit perfectly — I was expecting that to be the case, but wasn’t 100% certain. The handle does make things worse (ergonomically) on the 9500.
Enjoy your new Prestige, I’m glad you managed to get a great deal on it.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Wayne
I am confused. Will you be using the shaver with the pentagon angular heads?
I never had the 9500, but the prestige with the pentagon angular head is, for me, easy to hold and use. I have the wireless version, but the handle is probably the same as yours.
Hi Jay. I bought it direct from Philips USA and had a 20% discount bringing it in at $200 so I couldn’t go wrong. It is the plug in the bottom (like the 9820) and came with the cleaning pod system. It represents, for me, several options and frankly, I’m not certain which was I will end up going. If I use it with the pentagonal heads and the SH91 blades, it will clean up nicely in the cleaning pod. If I use it with the 9721 head and the SH98 blades, it gives me a more versatile shaver for under the nose and sideburns as well as the jawline. As for cleaning the head, I can just pop it off, mount it back onto my 9721 handle and clean it with my Norelco cleaning station that came with the 9721 (actually a much better cleaner than the cleaning pod since it also dries the shaver’s head with heating coils). I guess I have a dilemma as to which way to go but it’s a good dilemma since every way ends up giving me a great shave. I’m super glad I finally settled on this Prestige.
Hi Wayne,
The versatility you now have with these two shavers as a result of the cross-compatibility of various parts is really great. I think that alone plus the great deal you got make a strong case for keeping both? Don’t want to influence your decision in any way though. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
:-). haha… Ovidiu, you appear to know me well. In this case, I am definitely keeping the shaver. I’m very pleased with this purchase (as I was years ago with the 9721) and it will find a permanent home here. Even though the pentagonal heads will work on the 9721, it makes no sense to run that head there so that option is a senseless one. Alternating the SH98 heads with the SH91 heads on the Prestige, however, is very doable and probably the way I will use the shaver going forward. I’ll just use whichever head I opt for that morning now that I have two heads that work with the Prestige and two cleaning systems that will work with either choice. And guess what? My wife is happy I’m no longer yapping about it. haha…
Awesome, it’s a win win for everyone. I’ll be getting the new Prestige as well, hopefully pretty soon.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
After two weeks of shaving with the new Prestige (with pentagonal heads) and alternating between the round SH98 blades/heads and the newer SH91 blades/heads, I’ve come to the following observation. In my view, the round SH98 assembly provides a slightly better shave (closer and easier to maneuver) whereas the SH91 blades deliver a very good shave (close, smooth). I will likely make the round SH98 blade/assembly my default shaver and occasionally use the SH91 head assembly periodically. As for cleaning, the SH98 head can be popped off the Prestige, mounted on the older 9721 and cleaned in the older Norelco cleaning station. Regardless of which head assembly one has, the Prestige delivers a very good shave and with its ergonomic handle allows someone like myself to shave without difficulty in holding the shaver and maneuvering it.
Awesome, thank you for the update, Wayne. I’m pretty sure this workaround will be the only way of cleaning a modern Philips head in a full-fledged station. Philips seems to be all in on the quick clean pods.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Agreed. And frankly, it deeply disappoints me. If I leave the Prestige in the cleaning pod, the following morning it is still wet. The only work around for this is to remember to remove it after a cleaning and a drip-dry about an hour later and allow it to air dry. With the older Norelco cleaning station, following the cleaning there was the drying period under warming coils. My shaver is always nice and dry the following day and frankly, much cleaner than with the pod which simply recycles what is in the shaver’s head back into the shaver during the next cleaning session. It is for this reason that I do NOT simply plunk the Prestige into the cleaning pod after a shave but first either run it under a tap and shake it OR use the small brush to get rid of most of the facial hair prior to putting it in the pod so that as few facial hairs as possible end up in the pod. I suppose under the circumstances that it is better than nothing but frankly… not much better. I could simply run the shaver under the tap and use Shaver Saver once a week for lubrication if I did not want to bother with the pod. Overall… it is just NOT equal to the older plug-in Norelco cleaning station. Shame on Philips for taking the cheap way out.
Absolutely, you summarized the pod problem perfectly. Apart from being easy to store and portable (the cartridge finally has a screw cap), no other specific advantages. I think a new revision with a mesh filter fitted to the pod lid or inside the cartridge would be an improvement.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
A mesh filter over the cartridge just underneath the lid, would be ideal for this simple cleaning pod. It still isn’t great (no heating coils) but it would be a reasonable simple solution to the issue of facial hair being shot back up into the shaver. The lid on the cartridge is also welcomed for those who simply want to cap it off when not in use (as I would imagine that most users will not be using the cleaning pod on a daily basis but rather once a week or bi-weekly). The more efficient and older Norelco cleaning station did not offer a good storage for its cartridges when not in use and I’ve resorted to using some duct tape over the holes since I only use the cleaning station a few times a month. I know that there is no alcohol in the solution but still… evaporation can take place if the liquid is left exposed to the air. One thing that has occurred to me in regards to this newest version of the Prestige. Since it does not come with a charging stand just as its older siblings (9820 and 9860) how does one store it during the day, especially if you only want to use the cleaning pod a few times a month? I suppose you could remove the cartridge and tape over the open holes leaving the bottom of the cleaning pod empty. After rinsing the shaver under the tap you could simply place the shaver on the pod to drip dry there. It presents a sort of stand rather than having it lie on its side. Of course, that doesn’t solve the issue of it needing to be open to air dry but it is what it is: an imperfect cleaning pod. Thanks, Philips, for cheapening out on the expensive non-elegant solution. If I weren’t such a loyal Philips user, I’d be tempted to jump ship and extend a certain finger to the company. Sigh.
Duct tape for the win — though it would start to peel off after a while and of course it wouldn’t seal the opening completely, allowing the fluid to spill if not handled carefully.
I think it would still be a problem if you were to let the shaver drip in the pod — the next day the shaving head would be damp, not ideal for a dry shave.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Ovidiu, you’re absolutely correct. The situation is one that is likely only a concern for persnickety people like myself. What would most men likely do? Well, my reposed brother-in-law (of blessed memory) passed away last June at age 88. All his life he shaved with a Philips shaver (entry level). He held onto his shavers as long as they worked and only changed them out when he couldn’t fix them himself. He was perfectly happy with using a brush to clean them when needed as well as take them apart for deeper cleaning. When his shaving was done the shaver went into its case and that was. put away in the drawer under the counter. End of story. Why can’t I be like my brother-in-law… contented with the easiest (and cheapest) way to deal with shaving and its aftermath? Well, I’m Wayne, a more persnickety (there, I used that word twice) man who has a closet with 8 top of the line shavers and upset about where to put the shaver following its use (and if you saw how large my double sink counter was you would scratch your head at my so-called perdicament. My wife, Ovidiu, is a long-suffering and wonderful woman who puts up with my foibles. As for Philips/Norelco: confound them all. 😉
predicament… wish there was an edit function
No edit function, I’m afraid. I also think that I’m just being nitpicky sometimes and I could very well deal with something that’s just short of ideal. Then again I do remind myself that I have to address every aspect in these reviews that just might be important to someone, even if it’s a mere annoyance. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Got it. Years in the classroom have had an effect upon my written words. I’m discovering that the older I get, the more easily I slip up both grammatically and spelling-wise. Rather than reread what I’ve written (which I should do) before posting, I simply hit Post and discover a myriad of errors later. I’m going to have to discipline myself, Ovidiu. 🙂
Ovidiu
On humid days my Norelco Prestige (new model angular head and wireless charging ) does not shave well (close). Should I use the Lab Series electric shaver solution on those days? Every time I shave?
Jay
Hi Jay,
I get that as well and it’s particularly annoying when I use a rotary since the surface of the shaving head is larger. The plastic holders on the new Prestige are also larger than on the outgoing model, so I imagine it’s even worse now. Using a pre-shave you like will help and I do recommend you do so. But if the humidity is really high it can only help so much.
My face also gets really sweaty in the summer which makes things worse. So even if I use a pre-shave, I always have to crank up the AC half an hour before I shave, otherwise I would struggle a lot (clipped hairs stuck to the skin and moving the shaving head will be very jerky).
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
Today I returned to the Lab Series electric pre shave. Made a significant improvement. Closer shave. Shaver also ran much cooler. Thanks.
Jay
Hi Jay,
That’s great — it’s a really good match for a rotary. Glad your shave got much better.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
A couple of things re the pentagonal heads on the new Prestige. Whereas I’m now able to switch these out for the round SH98 heads, I’ve only done this a few times since I decided to give the pentagonal heads a decent try (a month). And honestly, I’m finding them just fine but there are things that can help. I have both Speick Pre Electric shave lotion and Eltron Shave Stick (the latter adds a small bit of powder to the face to help the shaver glide more easily). In general I’ve found that both of these are helpful and so I tend to use them (mostly Speick) but there is one other thing that I’ve begun doing that strangely seems to be working. Now you have to understand that I’ve been shaving with rotary shavers for years and years and always used the prescribed methods (and still do with this one exception). I start by using the circular motions and go over the entire face. Then I use straight strokes under the sideburns, on the jawline, across the chin and across the upper lip… maybe spending about a minute doing this. The shaver glides very well (probably due to the larger flat surface Ovidiu is speaking of and the Speick pre-shave). Honestly, when I’m done I’m amazed at how smooth the face is and it is only then that I take my shower. I never shower before a shave UNLESS I’m going to shave after breakfast when the bathroom has had a chance to dehumidify. I hope some of this helps a bit, Jay. BTW: I’m really loving the new Prestige. 🙂
Great feedback, Wayne, thank you. I also use straight strokes with rotaries, really effective to get some extra closeness over small areas. It’s probably why the Philips app keeps telling me to use rotary motions and that there’s room to improve my technique. 🙂
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Wayne
I have the new Prestige with the Q1 charging pad. I am reasonably sure the shaver part is the same as yours.
Today I returned to the Lab Series pre electric shaver solution. Made a significant difference. I don’t trust myself with glass bottles do that ruled out Speick. Also I need fragrance free.
I agree with you about the stroke direction.
Thanks, Ovidiu. When I had the 9500 Norelco, I was essentially told the same thing so I uninstalled the app. For someone who has used rotary shavers for decades, I just did not find it very helpful. I think for most men, the best way forward with a shaver is to experiment and find what works best. And these straight strokes in the areas I mentioned seem to work best, especially on the upper lip and the jawline. I hope some of this helps, Jay.
Hi Ovidiu
Are you planning to review the new Prestige? If so, any time soon?
Jay
Hi Jay,
I will definitely review it. I wanted to first finish with the buying guides, I already posted the Braun guide and I’m currently working on the one for Panasonic. Philips Norelco will be the last one, and then I will finally get to the new Prestige as well.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks Ovidiu
I really like the new Prestige with wireless charging. Fits nicely on my compact sink. It’s more costly than the one with the cord, but for me. worth it.
BTW Bestbuy ran a $249 sale which is no longer. I purchased when it first came out and there was no sale then. I guess people can can periodically check for sales.
The wireless charging is a mixed blessing, Jay. For some (like yourself) it allows for a better fit due to the lack of space and it’s understandable that men in that situation would likely find the Qi charging to be desirable. For others, like myself, the better fit is the non-wireless charging for two main reasons: much faster charging (one hour vs three) and a much smaller and lighter case when traveling. As for the charging itself, it only becomes an “issue” once a week for me and then only for an hour (while I eat breakfast so it’s completely unnoticed). Breakfast finishes, I unplug it and back into its case it goes. So I guess it’s a case of “different strokes for different folks”, eh! 🙂
Wayne
Your comments regarding charging time assume the time it takes to charge from zero. If the shaver is fully charged and then you shave and put it back on the charging pad, it only takes a few minutes to reach full charge. For me it is all about the convenience of just putting it on the charging pad and forgetting about it.
Regarding battery life, there is no consistent standard about when to recharge. Some say keep a battery between 20% and 80%. Others don’t worry and just keep it on wireless charging and are none the worse for this. There are endless discussions on Apple forums with no consensus. Since Norelco does not address the issue, I will opt for maximum convenience. I have never had a shaver battery degrade significantly. Wanting to purchase another shaver for a variety of reasons, happens well before then.
Jay, we’ll agree to disagree on the battery issue. I can’t see that having a battery at 100% charge every morning changes anything in terms of convenience. When I grab my 72% shaver it is ready to shave so there is no inconvenience. On the one morning in the week (I could go two weeks but I choose one) that I decide to charge the shaver, I simply shave after breakfast so there is no inconvenience whatsoever. Add to that the issue of a larger case with the Qi charger and I’ll stick with the non-Qi charging shaver. Different strokes, Jay. Your set-up works well for you as does mine for me. If you read comments in regards to the newer Prestige and compare them with those made for the 9820 and the 9860 you’ll discover the exact same thing: too bulky for travel and most don’t want it sitting on the counter. It’s really dependent upon a guy’s requirements.
So today, I decided to dig out the S9721 and shave with it after five weeks with the new Prestige. What I’m going to say is strictly my opinion and in a sense, disappoints me. The shave was better with the 9721 and by that I mean, it was easier to shave with the shaver than my new Prestige with the pentagonal heads (and no, I haven’t yet spent a week or so with the new Prestige and the older SH98 head assembly so I can’t speak to that… yet). The handle is thinner and more ergonomic than the Prestige; in other words, it’s easier to hold and more comfortable. That’s not to say that the Prestige isn’t ergonomic or comfortable but it is thicker and just slightly less so than the older shaver. Secondly, the SH98 head assembly on the older 9721 was far easier to maneuver around the face (under the nose, under the sideburns and along the jawline). It allowed me to shave more quickly and with no requirements to change the way in which I held the shaver due to the round heads. And now here is a strange observation that I’ve noticed with both the 9500 series and the newer Prestige that appears to be an aberration with the pentagonal heads. If you are not careful while shaving the chin, the heads can grab your skin and the result is not pleasant. It’s happened to me on a few occasions and I have to say, after using Norelco/Philips shavers for decades, this has never happened before. This morning with the older 9721 and the rounded heads of the SH98 blades, the shave was smooth with not even a hint of catching. I’ve gotten used to how to shave with the pentagonal heads on my new Prestige so that this issue has more or less been resolved, but still… it’s yet another example (in my opinion) of poor design. I’m sitting here feeling my face now and the skin is as smooth as any shave I’ve had with my newer shaver. It doesn’t mean I’ll ditch the newer Prestige (besides, I’m past that return date…haha). It just is what it is.
If I were to rate the Norelcos I’ve owned in terms of shaving performance, this would be my rating of the top four Norelcos over the past 20 years: 1) Norelco 1280 Sensotouch (simply the best); 2) Norelco S9721 fitted with the SH98 blades; 3) Sensotec HQ8894 fondly referred to as the James Bond shaver (I wish I still had it but I sold it years ago on ebay). 4) the Prestige (this is a tough choice for me since it involves the issue of the change of heads and involves all that has been said earlier in my comments). The 1280 just had it all… flip-top head for ease of cleaning, integrated trimmer, excellent cleaning station as opposed to the pod and rounded heads. Philips has really dropped the ball design-wise over the past few years. 🙁
Update: I’ve had more time to try the SH98 heads on the new Prestige. Bottom line here: if you still have one of the older 9000 series shavers (i.e. 9700 or 9300) then there is no point in using that head on the newest Prestige with the pentagonal heads even though it will fit and work. Why? There is nothing to be gained whatsoever so just keep the older head on the older series and use it whenever it pleases you. As for the newer Prestige with the pentagonal heads, it’s fine the way it is “if” you learn the technique of rotating the shaver 180 degrees under the nose and alternate both circular and straight strokes on the other areas to be shaved. I like my Norelco shavers and they do a fine job. Are they the best Philips has ever produced? In my opinion, no… “but” they are very close to be the best and that is good enough.
Great insights as always, Wayne, thank you for sharing. I’d also add that it’s a good idea to try circular and straight strokes with any rotary, but the combo is particularly effective with these newer and larger heads.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Hi Ovidiu
I too recommend circulate and straight strokes. I am using the Prestige with the Pentagonal heads.
I remain undecided about shaving frequency. Sometimes I shave daily and other times every other day. I might lean more toward daily, as my beard I coarse and thick.
Thank you Wayne as well.
I also am undecided about pre-shave or not. I find the lab series oily, making the shaver hard to grab. However I can’t deny that it does what it is supposed to do.
Right now I am not using anything except post shave lotion.
Hi Jay,
The frequency of shaving is really up to you, nothing wrong with any approach provided the hair has a reasonable length. Shaving daily is in most cases beneficial as it takes less work for a smooth shave. I shave every other day because my skin is really sensitive and even though I’m getting the best results by far with my current setup, it’s still better in my case to allow the skin a day between shaves to heal. Sometimes I have to shave the next day and that shave isn’t always great and I get some irritation on the neck and chin.
Oh and I always thoroughly wash my hands with soap after applying the pre-shave — it’s very oily and it can really affect the grip.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu
Thanks so much. My skin is sensitive too, so I may stick to every other day or try daily and see how it goes.
Hey, Jay. I hope you’re doing alright and enjoying the summer. I’ll reiterate what Ovidiu posted. When I used Speick (not all the time), I always wash my hands thoroughly for the very reason you mentioned – it could cause the shaver to slip out of my hands and I don’t want the oil transferred to the shaver. I have to admit to liking Speick for the reason that it seems to help the shaver glide on those days when it wants to stutter across my face and for the fact that I can’t smell it. I don’t really experience shaver issues with the Prestige (I did with the AT830 on my neck) so shaving daily is not an issue although I do occasionally opt out on Saturdays out of laziness, I guess. Anyway, I hope your summer is going well. Take care.
Hi Wayne
Interesting about the Speick. You can’t smell it, while I find the smell quite strong. The problem with all of the Pre-Shaves that I have tried so far, is they are all alcohol based with alcohol being a leading ingredient. Most also have a fragrance. My dermatologist advises against alcohol based products. For me, Lab Series does the job, but it is oily and it too is alcohol based. I am trying to do without and just accept there will be days where the shaver does not glide well.
Sorry to hear that you’re unable to find something suitable, Jay. To be honest, I don’t use a pre-shave that often but when I do, it’s generally Speick. Would something else work as well? Probably but I haven’t looked much. If I hear of something that is odorless and non-alcohol, I’ll post it. Meanwhile, try to stay cool in the big city. 🙂
Any thoughts on the prestiges ability to work as a headshaver? Remington 5 and skullshaver is out of the question for now
It works great as a head shaver, just like any quality rotary shaver. It’s not as comfortable to hold as the Skull Shaver when doing the back and top of the head, but it certainly can be used as a head shaver regularly.
Sincerely,
Ovidiu