Ubuntu, for reasons known only to itself, defaults to sub-optimal settings for upscale bluetooth connected speakers, resulting in very noticable audio lag when, e.g, playing John Oliver on YouTube.

But the community long ago figured out what's going on and how to fix it. Ubuntu, being Linux, makes this easy. Here's the article: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/407447/how-to-force-a2dp-sink-when-wireless-bluetooth-headset-is-connected/415928.

For those not into linksmanship, here's the gist:

# Automatically connect both A2DP and HFP/HSP profiles for incoming
# connections.  Some headsets that support both profiles will only connect the 
# other one automatically so the default setting of true is usually a good idea.
# from https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/407447/how-to-force-a2dp-sink-when-wireless-bluetooth-headset-is-connected/415928
AutoConnect=true

# Enables Multi Profile Specification support. This allows to specify if
# system supports only Multiple Profiles Single Device (MPSD) configuration
# or both Multiple Profiles Single Device (MPSD) and Multiple Profiles Multiple
# Devices (MPMD) configurations.
# Possible values: "off", "single", "multiple"
MultiProfile = multiple

Restart bluetooth service: sudo systemctl bluetooth.