Hi all!

When I'm pulling a shot with my Lelit Anna, what I'm experiencing is the pressure shoots first to 10 bars, then drops to 9 but mostly sits near 8 bars...

What I'm wondering is if this is normal, am I doing something wrong in the prep?

Thank you!

I don't see anything wrong with what you're saying, unless I'm misunderstanding.
Once the water reaches and saturates the puck it offers a lot of resistance to flow which makes the pump gauge register 10 Bar... As the oils are extracted and washed out of the coffee-prep, the water flows through much more easily and the gauge reflects that drop in pressure by displaying a lower pressure.

Ok, thank you.

I just had that idea of the 9 bar ideal pressure and my normal extractions spend more time in the range of the 8 bar, when they are past the middle of the extraction.

For fun, grind slightly finer with the same dose. It will keep a slightly higher pressure in the brew chamber a little longer, and see if it improves your flavour or not.
Then, set the grinder back to how it was and try dosing just 1/4 or 1/2 gram more and see if that improves the flavour. If neither improves the drink, then you may already be where you want to be.

The coffee I was using ended, and while I'm waiting for a better one to come in the mail, I'm using a robusta and arabica blend (supermarket variety).

The thing is, probably because of the grind, as you said, and also the dose of course plays the part, I pulled a shot today almost all the way in the 9 bar region. It was nice. With this coffee, that I know well, when the pressure is a little more "wild" it tends to be almost salty.