LD Systems Anny 8: The Sound will Blow You Away at this Price

Headliner takes a deep dive into LD Systems’ smallest portable PA system: the ANNY 8.

Ten years is a long time in portable PA terms. Designs have moved on, Bluetooth has less lag, and DSP has taken over what seems like every aspect of modern life. It wasn’t that long ago that I would see a busker with a converted pram wheeling about a speaker with a homemade or adapter amp powered by a car battery – guitar strapped to their back – rising precariously up the escalator after a hard day’s graft! Oh, how times have changed.

Headliner recently shot content with emerging artist Ace Clvrk, busking with the LD Systems ANNY 10. I was impressed with not only the sound quality and the functionality, but the battery life in particular, and the ease with which you could move this all-in-one PA system around.

ANNY 8 delivers all of that and more, in a smaller, more affordable and lightweight frame.

Unlike ANNY 10, there is no trolley-style handle or wheels on ANNY 8 - but you don’t need them: it’s light enough to carry around without stretching your arms or pulling any muscles.

It’s also about 20% cheaper than ANNY 10, as well as being significantly more compact, and has a far more striking aesthetic, with various colour options available. 

It features the same mixer configuration (be it one fewer channel when fully loaded, as ANNY 8 only supports one radio system, as opposed to two on ANNY 10 ), but the really significant difference here is weight: ANNY 8 is almost 10kg lighter than ANNY 10 at just 8.8kg, yet the max SPL rating is only 1dB lower than ANNY 10. That is impressive.

Another thing I like the sound of is the TWS feature (True Wireless Stereo), where you can pair up a set of speakers for stereo operation without cabling. 

I didn’t have a second unit to experiment with on this occasion, as it would be useful to know if this is just a Bluetooth setup option or whether you can transmit the audio from the mixer of one ANNY 8 to another without having to resort to the mix output XLR and linking via a cable. But the fact you have a stereo playback option – as with AirPods, for example – via Bluetooth is certainly a bonus.

ANNY 8, as the name suggests, is fitted with an 8-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter. Straight out of the box, it sounds balanced and impressive whether it’s on a stand, on the floor, or tilted back, pointing up at you. 

Placing it flat on its base actually produces a little more bass, as does selecting the music preset, which reminded me of the old loudness button on a HiFi separates amp I used to love back in the day!

As you move away from the unit, it’s the low end which tends to fall away first, which is probably why the music preset is so bass-heavy in close proximity; however, if you’re going to be using these out and about, which is exactly what they're designed for, then it’s great that LD Systems has got this just right.

Pressing the master volume rotary gets you into the settings menu, and Bluetooth is your first option, where you select between pairing and the earlier mentioned TWS. Below Bluetooth is Audio, which opens the Master EQ section; this gives you a Presets menu with five options: Music, Live, Vocal, Eco, and Flat - plus access to the bass, middle, and treble controls should you want to tweak these yourself.

Below Audio is FX, which selects the type of effect from three reverbs and a delay; and the FX sends, which control the amount of send level from each channel to the effect. 

This is useful if you want a little reverb on your acoustic guitar but not on your vocals, or vice versa. Last on the menu is Settings [of the LCD screen], which allows you to tweak for bright light or low-light applications.

The mixer is really very easy to use with simple menus, an easy parameter selection for Master EQ and FX, and tactile rotary controls for all channel and radio level controls. Balancing between an acoustic guitar, vocals, and a backing track is simple; adding FX is plain sailing; and there is also a foot-switch for the ANNY series so you can kill the FX in-between numbers so you don’t sound like you’re announcing the next song from a public bathroom – that is a really professional touch for any street performer. 

And vocally, again, I think LD Systems has got the ANNY 8 spot on: whether you’re a singer-songwriter, you’re into reciting poetry, or you just want to be heard in assembly, this is an affordable unit that sounds better than the price tag would suggest.

Connectivity-wise, channels three and four are a stereo pair fed from either a stereo mini jack or a pair of phono sockets; a separate volume control for Bluetooth helps to balance over-exuberant phone levels; and there’s also a USB-C port to provide power to your external device as well as a very handy slot on the top of ANNY 8 in which I could slot my 16 Pro Max on its side quite comfortably.

I had just a couple of very minor niggles, none of which were to do with the box itself, but more to do with the handling noise of the radio mic. 

I appreciate that it’s more likely that if somebody wants a specific mic, they’re going to plug it in with a cable, however, the LD Systems mic could benefit from a suitable mic clip for those who are going to be singing and playing, as it’s a perfectly good quality mic sonically, it just doesn’t like being ‘juggled’.

Which leads me to another of the amazing options available with this unit: the belt pack and headset, which leave your hands free.

My ANNY 8 unit turned up in a rather delightful colour, described as ‘adventure green’. I have to say it made a change from the usual black that most speakers are adorned with (it also comes in black, white, and urban grey), and I have to say it was an absolute joy to work with, and sounded excellent.

Battery life was also very impressive: LD Systems claims an 11-hour life span at moderate level on the Eco audio preset, and 3.5 hours at proper busking levels. My test unit from fully charged was still going strong after a couple of days of persistent background music, so I have absolutely no reason to doubt these claims.

There are a couple of really cool carrying covers for ANNY 8 as well, one of which is a waterproof duffle bag with flaps on the right hand side for letting you get to the controls (and your audience to the sound) without letting the weather in. That’s definitely worth checking out.

All in all, this is a very well-designed and built system that should give its owner a great return, not to mention a great garden party or more! It has a wealth of features going for it: good sound, easy to use, light, and a great price. From the streets to the small stages, it’ll do a very solid job.