Homepod Minis react very slowly to audio app changes on Macbook

I used to have one Homepod Mini, and it worked well for the few things I used it for, so I bought some more, and now I use a stereo pair with my Macbook Pro. It works fine for playing music, but when I watch a video, for example on YouTube, there is an ungodly delay when I pause the video, during which the audio keeps playing, and the same in reverse when I start it again. If I use the built-in speakers in the Macbook there is zero delay.

Is there some way to get rid of this delay? We are not talking '70s tech here, everything should happen in tiny fractions of a second, especially when Apple controls the technology completely, as with AirPlay.