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95 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superior shave, excellent build quality. EXTREMELY NICE!, November 7, 2003
I used to use a Norelco during my college days and did so up until my mid 20's when I started sporting a mustache. The tri-head Norelco just couldn't 'touch up' near the 'stache, so instead of spending time using BOTH the Norelco and a blade, I just went back to blades. That was until I recently had a friend marvel at how great the Braun 7680 was; I listened mostly out of amazement, because he sports a mustache too. It sounded literally 'too-good-to-be-true', but enticed me enough to buy one. I can genuinely tell you, he wasn't kidding.The Braun 7680 is a very 'Teutonic' looking piece of equipment; very high tech, but classy, if that makes sense. Fit and finish of everything is of the highest caliber. It comes with: the razor itself, a very nice leather carrying case, a cleaning brush, the instructions, a hard clear plastic foil protector,a charging/cleaning stand and a bottle of the cleaning solution. At first, you plug the power cord into the razor and start a 4 hour charging procedure; Braun cautions you to NOT start using the cleaning stand for the initial charge (stating that the 'Smart Logic' built into the razor needs this first, necessary charge in such a manner). I did so, at $170 who needs to second-guess the manufacturer? It charged in almost four hours to the minute; the timer is unbelievable in this thing. What it states on the LCD can be taken with authority from my impressions. But enough tech; how does it shave? Unbelievable comes to mind, initially. VERY, VERY easy on your skin. My beard is not heavy, but it is coarse. The Braun just glides over your facial contours with the lightest touch. I experience no burning, nor irritation at all. As past reviewers correctly state, you do have to somewhat stretch your neck skin to get the absolute best shave. The joy of this shaver comes from NOT having three heads setup in a triangle, which really kills close touch ups. Being straight, you can get comfortably close to mustaches, goatees, etc. The trimmer is more aggresive than the trimmer on a Norelco, but ALL trimmers on shavers to me are a convenience item, at best. They cut great; but they're always mounted in a position that I assume makes the best use of the shaver's powertrain, and, realistically, you just have to contort a lot to get them into position. A simple trimmer, such as Norelco's superb little mustache/beard trimmer, just make life so much easier. If you're new to an electric, I simply cannot emphasize how important it is to TAKE TIME and let your beard/skin get accustomed to using the electric. Norelco used to include a little pamphlet in with their shavers (years ago!) that actually put some thought into scientifically explaining it; I had the good fortune to have a college room mate that paid his dues with a Norelco and he coached me well in this. Whatever the scientific reason, I can tell you, it takes about a month for everything to start working together. I can't put it any simpler than that. Don't EVER judge ANY electric by the first two weeks; and DON'T get tempted to use a razor to touch up; you're simply delaying the process. One final note, that may interest some readers: You're going to have a high tech 'rocket launcher' (I don't take credit for this; another reviewer CORRECTLY termed it thusly) on your bathroom counter. This may/may not matter to you, but make no mistake, you WILL notice it; it's about 3 times bigger than the shaver (and gleaming, high tech BLACK) and unless you have a power socket UNDER your bathroom cabinet, it's gotta go somewhere! My wife adds this little bit of trivia to the review, as she HATES the recharging stand, forcing me to use the downstairs bathroom for storage, as she has a 'theme' to our master bedroom. Go figure! Oh yes, one last thing that's important: the cleaning solution tanks. Once the cap is off of them, they CAN leak; i.e. once you install them, place the recharging stand where you won't move it; if you tilt the stand, they DO leak! So, as a summary: Great shave, even better if you're used to electrics. Great quality, very nicely made piece of equipment. Huge, very noticeable recharging stand. Five stars, for sure!
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