Customer Reviews

Philips Norelco 9190XL SmartTouchXL Shaver

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased this shaver after giving up on my Braun 7600 series razor. It just didn't give me a close enough shave and I was tired of buying the cleaning system solution - which are a rip off in my opinion. I had never tried a Norelco product before and was skeptical. However it gives me the closest shave I have ever gotten from an electric. I initially tried the middle setting and got a little irritation on my neck but otherwise fine. It does take some getting used to the circular heads when shaving my upper lip but did cover the area better than the Braun - which left a small ridge near my nose. I like being able to just rinse the heads instead of an expensive and sticky cleaning system. They could leave out all the fancy electronics and I didn't need a clock in the base. I would have given 5 stars if it had been a little less expensive.

I was seduced by the new features offered by this shaver thinking it was worth it but found out after one week using it that it is not.

I've been using philips-Norelco electric shavers for the past 10 years, every couple of years I change for an updated new model, so I'm not new to these shavers.

This time I went for the new top of the line and I'm dissapointed: my old 8000 series was smoother, with the 9190 I get a sligly faster shave (but not closer) but irritates my skin (thanks to the three ring shaving heads, faster shave but uncortable one). LCD is terrible (contrary to old model) can't see info unless I turn on the razon. Pros: Motor is quieter, design is pretty, better handling, but thats is the least important stuff, I'm getting hurt with this shaver!.

I am thinking of either returning it or replacing heads with the 8 series model (too bad after spending $200!) or keep suffering a couple of weeks more to see if my face gets used to the new blades (cause sometimes you really need to as manual indicates).

So my advice: not worth the upgrade from a recent model and not well suited for sensitive skins (although always better than manual razors).

My wife got this shaver for me as a birthday gift. It looks very nice and feels very comfortable on my face. I have it set to the normal sensitivity setting which means it tightens the spring and pressure of the floating heads. So far, no razor burn. This setting is suppose to also give the fastest shave. The shaver is very quiet. It comes with a great stainless steel carry case. For a razor this expensive, that is nice. I should not have to worry about it when I take trips. If I keep it in my car to shave while driving to work, it should be protected. Other than flushing with hot water, Norelco recommends cleaning and lubricating once a month. You can use their commericial products or, their instructions say use rubbing alcohol and mineral oil. They also suggest replacing the shaving heads once a year. Norelco offers a 60 day money back guarantee. They say you need to use the razor exclusively for 3-weeks before you decide if it's right for you. This allows your skin to adjust to this razor. If after 3 or 4 weeks you don't think the razor is right for you, send it back. So far, I'm pleased. If it's better in 3 weeks, GREAT! Read your little instruction book if you get this razor. I believe Norelco invested quite a bit into R&D. For what this razor costs, you should take advantage of their efforts. My wife is hoping I will be more inclined to be clean shaven morning and night. This razor offers no excuses. The LCD display is just fine; I don't know why anyone is complaining about this. Perhaps they are Braun employees. It counts down how many minutes of charge time you have left as well as reminding you when to flush and charge and even replace the heads at the end of a year. Norelco says I can expect about 80 minutes of run time from a charge. At 3 minutes a shave, that's 26 shaves. Shave twive a day and you need to recharge twice a month. If necessary, you can run it with the cord pluged in as a corded shaver.

I replaced my Norelco Spectra with this Smart-Touch 9190 XL and it works as advertised. I liked the Spectra, but compared to it the XL simply outclasses the old one.

The XL takes less time, shaves closer and is quieter. It also has a much bigger chamber to hold the cut hair. And the trimmer works well. According to the manual, it takes up to 3 weeks to conform to your skin and you may get some irritation until it gets broken in. I set it to sensitive and have had very little skin irritation from day one.

It has some nice features including a screen that tells you how many minutes you have used and how many you have left. Or, you can change the display to a battery indicator. It also tells you when to rinse, charge the razor and change the blades. Another nice feature is the travel lock. You hold the power button for 3 seconds and it locks which prevents it from accidentally turning on. The charging base has a little clock, but I do not see the point in that.

My old razor had the digital information screen so that is what I wanted in a new razor. However, if you do not need or want that feature then I would suggest getting the cheaper model. I think all the other features are the same on both, plus you would save a lot of money. Personally, I like the 9190XL but the choice is up to you.

Pros:

Faster shave.

Closer shave.

Information screen.

Easily rinses clean.

Holds charge for a long time.

Quiet operation.

Cons:

Pricey.

I've been using a Reminton Microscreen for the last 10 years and have been happy with it but I decided to give the Norelco a second try.

-I find that the Norelco is supperior at trimming the swirl pattern under my chin.

-I find that the time it takes to shave my face is much less with the Norelco. (2 to 3 minutes)

-The Mustache/beard trimmer built into the Norelco is worthless. I found that I needed to keep my Remington Beard and mustache trimmer to keep up my sideburns.

-the Norelco tends to pull hairs if you let the beard grow over a long weekend.

-In the last 75 days I've only had to charge it twice.

Overall it was expensive and the trimmer is worthless but I would recomend it to a friend.

I bought the Philips Norelco 9190XL Smart TouchXL Shaver on April 30, 2007,had my doubt's about all the reviews i was reading about this shaver, but i have to say they are true,i've been using a blade for the last 20 years and never knew it could be this good,after i charged this shaver i thought there was something wrong with it because i couldn't hear it running, the battery is great, haven't had to charge it but once so far and i use it every day for about three weeks now. If you're thinking about it think no more buy it, you won't regret it.

Well I was replacing all my other shaver/trimmers, so might as well make a it a clean slate. I've been using a Norelco shaver for at least 12 years now. No, I mean the SAME shaver for 12 years. Other than replacing the battery once or twice, it's been a good shaver for me, and it had an LCD display on it too. I went back and forth between getting the 9190 and the cheaper 9160. I didn't have to have a LCD display, and almost went with the 9160, but decided since I was getting 20% off anyway, to spend the money on the 9190. I don't know if the cheaper unit would have done the same job for cheaper, but I'm happy with the 9190. The heads have a lot more shaving area then the heads on my old shaver. And this shaver is a lot quieter too. I like being able to rinse the heads. The adjustable comfort control seems to work ok. The first few times I shaved on normal, last time was at the medium setting and my skin was less irritated. If you're looking at the picture of it and thinking it has contoured grips, it doesn't. It's smooth plastic with some rubber running along the sides, the contour looking bit is under the plastic. Anyway, nice shaver, don't regret buying it.

I have been using Norelco cordless electric shavers for about 20 years now. Fortunately, years ago it did not take long for my face to adjust.

Recently had to replace a 7 year old Norelco shaver when the internal battery charging circuitry fizzled. Because I frequently shave far away from an a/c outlet, I needed the timer display to tell me to get ready for a charge. This feature is a must and helped make my decision easy, on which new model to buy.

Only way to get my feature was to go for the top-of-the-line 9190 XL Norelco model and make the 200 smacker investment. Thus far it has lived up to my expectations. Shaves about 40 percent quicker than the older versions and is extremely quiet !

On the dark side, I have also found a couple of minor shortcomings: First, the travel-carrying case is difficult to unlatch. The only time it opened easily is when it fell on the floor ! This unit should not have popped open at all. Second, although the timer display is large, certain numbers are not so easy to read. A number 8 looks a lot like a 3.

All things considered, it has been a worthwhile purchase for me and should provide years of reliable service. This one you will enjoy !

First off I have to say I have very sensative skin around my neck and throat area. I have tried several diff. Nolreco models as well as convential razors and have always had terrible razor burn. I bought this model, it is expensive but I figured I would give it a shot. I can honestly say the first time I used I had very little razor burn. I am on my 2nd month of using and have all but eliminated the burn on my neck and throat. If you have sensative skin and are willing to pay $200 I strongly recommend this razor.

I picked up the 9190xl a little over a month ago, so I feel I can make a reasonable review of it now.

I bought the razor after running out of Mach 3 razor heads - I couldn't bring myself to spend $3 on a stupid piece of plastic/metal that I would throw away every week. That said, I did get a very good shave with the Mach 3, so I was looking for something similar in an electric razor. I had an old Norelco rotary razor quite awhile ago, however I had only spent maybe $60 on the thing and it never worked well. I hated it and eventually got rid of it.

The 9190xl is substantially better, needless to say. In comparison to a Mach 3, which I would shave with and against the grain with, the 9190xl is very close, but not quite there in terms of closeness. That's not to say it's bad in any way - in fact, along my chin, it is actually better. So, although it may not be quite as close, you would really have to rub your face all day long to notice a difference, and even then it is hardly anything. If you're not satisfied with this shave, coming from a blade, you may have more pressing issues to address.

Besides giving an excellent shave, there are other major advantages. True to their word, each shave takes approximately 3 minutes once you get used to it. The shaver has a nice, substantial feel to it - very solid. The means of cleaning it - running it through water - is ingenious, if not exceedingly simple. Why you would want to deal with a bulky stand and cleaning solution, when you could run it through water (nearly free!!) for 20 seconds is beyond me. The travel case that it comes with - reasonably nice nylon that is stiffened on one side, works well; fit is very tight and it seems to offer ample protection to the head of the razor (coupled with the not-really-all-that-bad plastic cover). The LCD screen is easy (for me) to read, and a very nice feature.

Now on to the things I would say are not 100%...

Shave time is not really 90 minutes. Mine charges to 85 minutes, but the last time I ran it down, it went from 11 minutes to...0 minutes. It didn't die, but I thought that was odd (and I recharged it anyway). Because I did recharge it after that day's use, I'm not sure if this issue was with the capacity of the battery, or the calibration of the meter. The charging stand is so-so: it works well enough, but it's clear that it is nothing more than cheap injection molded plastic, with a cheap quartz clock to match. Not that I really expected anything more, but I don't think it's deserving of any praise that Norelco gives it. The SmartTouch pivoting system has a gauge on the LCD screen to indicate the relative stiffness of the head. This gauge is not very useful. Often it will be overly sensitive, and a small bump will move it from one extreme to the other, despite that the dial itself may be on the entirely other extreme, i.e. the LCD gauge might indicate as far on the "N" side as possible, when in fact the dial is about as far to the "S" side as can be. Not a debilitating issue, I notice it every once in awhile and it's easy to play around with it for a second until it rights itself.

On the SmartTouchXL system as a whole: I suspect it's a bit of a gimmick. The head does indeed pivot, but not to a great extent and not without undue pressure. The amount of give in the individual rotary heads themselves would seem to supercede anything offered through the pivoting head. I have mine on the medium level, I cannot really tell a difference between this and sensitive, and I have yet to notice the head really moving much when shaving. If your trying to grind your face off with the 9190xl, and applying an accordingly high degree of pressure, then maybe the SmartTouchXL will make it slightly more comfortable. But if your pushing a regular amount while shaving, I don't think it will make much of a difference.

The biggest improvement I can see is in the head design - the SpeedXL heads are very good at what they do. My understanding is that the small holes shave stubble better than do the slots; with the SpeedXL heads, the outer ring is primarily slots with three small patches of holes each, the middle ring has a higher percentage of holes, and the inner ring is all holes. This seems to be a very good design and probably contributes most to the quality of shave offered by the 9190xl.

All of this considered, I am very pleased with the 9190xl. It was expensive, but I feel no regret buying it. It's not perfect, but I do think it's the best on the market right now (my opinion there, of course, is pretty much completely unfounded but...oh well). I do think you could receive as good of a shave without the pivoting SmartTouchXL head setup, and I would not worry about buying a cheaper Norelco with just the SpeedXL shaver heads. But I'm not particularly inclined to do so, and I'm satisfied as it is and would have no qualms buying another Norelco down the road (assuming it's not for another 5 years).