Connection issues with JBL Bluetooth speaker

I have been having connection issues with my JBL Xtreme Bluetooth speaker. With my iPhone everything if fine but the problems arise with my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). First just connecting after starting the speaker doesn't always work immediately. Sometimes it doesn't connect automatically and I have to manually select it from the bluetooth menu, on other occasions it does connect but then loses connection after a few seconds. After two tries the connection usually stays.

Then the next problem happens always, without exception. If I start playing music from Spotify, Itunes or if I play a video using VLC or Quicktime all other sounds are blocked after I pause or quit those programs. Example: I am watching a movie on Netflix (Safari or Chrome doesn't matter). If I start playing something on one of the programs mentioned before (or preview using spacebar) then they both play at the same time. If I pause or quit (for example Spotify) then the sound from the Netflix movie also stops although the video is still playing. If I pause and resume the video in the browser there is still no sound, system sounds are also muted. If I resume Spotify that does play sound strangely enough. To resolve the issue I have to wait a few minutes or select internal speakers as output and then return to the JBL speaker. The entire time the speaker stays connected to the MacBook.

Both my MacBook Pro and the JBL Xtreme are updated with the latest firmware/os. I also own an Anker Soundcore bluetooth speaker and I have no connection issues whatsoever with that speaker.

I am wondering if any of you have had this same issue and have a solution?

Greetings,

Kevin