Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had a Norelco Sensotouch 3D a few years ago. As others have mentioned, you will not find a quieter motor. It's a great shave but in the end, you will grow weary of having to shave in a circular motion especially if you need to shave around a goatee or other facial hair that you want to remain. I've found that foils allow you to take a few passes going "North/South" and then going "East/West" especially under the jaw line. This is my experience between the newest Panasonic Arc 5 and the Braun Series 9. I never purchase the cleaning system that both brands offer because I think they are an unnecessary expense. If you use liquid soap on the foils and rinse after use, the blades should be clean and fresh for the next use. Panasonic has a somewhat quieter motor than the Braun, which is strange because the Panasonic operates at 14,000 cycles per minute as opposed to Braun's 10,000 cpm. For the Panasonic that's 233 cycles per second. That's amazing speed for the linear power plant. Both mustache/sideburn trimmers leave much to be improved because the cutters are blocked by the shaving heads. A slight advantage goes to Panasonic because it's more visible and useful. As the model Arc 5 states in its name, Panasonic has five cutting foils compared to Brauns Series 9 which has four. I assume the extra foil gives more coverage and opportunity to cut wayward or difficult hairs. I will say that five should be the limit. I can't imagine having more blades like the race in the manual razor market where five seems to be the limit. If a company adds more foils, you will need a wrist brace to handle the increased weight. The Panasonic shaver floats on a 2 axis head where it goes front to back and side to side. The Braun is limited to only front to back. This is a major benefit where the heads more closely follow the contours of your face, chin and neck. Both units allow you to lock the head for sensitive or specific areas. The LED screen on the Panasonic shows time used in minutes and seconds and then the percentage of battery strength. There's an option to use the motor full speed or allow the motor to vary the speed depending on the thickness of the beard. The Braun is much simpler and has five blue bars to show battery level. Although subjective, I would say the Braun does have a better cosmetic appearance. Being generous, I would say that's why the Braun costs $70 more than the Panasonic. They both shave well but I would give the advantage to Panasonic. It gets the neck/throat area almost as close as a blade. It cuts through the whiskers without snagging or getting bogged down. A better shave at a lower cost should appeal to performance and budget conscious buyers. Panasonic wins this competition.