It’s been quite some time since my last post, but this issue has been annoying and persistent enough to warrant a post on its own.
If you own a pair of Sony WH-1000XM2 or WH-1000XM3, you might have inadvertently been listening to a degraded codec when you connect to a Mac.
My XM2 has been consistently connecting via the worse SBC codec instead of the higher definition aptX codec. To check what Bluetooth connection your pair of headphones have been using, Option + Click the Bluetooth connection icon on your Mac’s menu bar.