Airpods Pro disconnecting

Hi. I've just purchased the Airpods Pro. I've paired them with my iPhone SE and my Taotronics bluetooth transmitter which I use to listen to my TV over bluetooth headphones. When I am listening to music on my iPhone, after about 30 seconds the connections is lost and the Airpods connect to the Taotronics transmitter. The only way to prevent this is to switch the Taotronics off but then that signal isn't available for other headphones. Why should the Airpods 'prefer' this bluetooth signal? Anyone experience this when also paired with a non-Apple device?