Finally got this slightly odd Sound Blaster card and here experimenting with some of my favorite games (and new ones as well). The stereo panning is a feature for providing an easy improvement to the music experience as not all game music composers were Frank Klepacki, Stéphane Picq or Henri Chalifour... This will most likely become my new default OPL2 card although quite noisy.
I love that soft yet crunchy sound of FM synth. Some of the soundtracks masterfully used the hardware regardless of its limitations, producing such atmospheric tracks like those in Privateer, in the intro to F1GP or Harrier Jump Jet menu theme (which sadly was cut a bit short in this video), just glorious.