Hybrid SACD's do have a CD layer that is playable on a normal CD player. I would borrow a hybrid SACD from your local library to determine if your CD player can pick up this format. The quality of the music on the CD layer is based on the quality of the recording. I've read some reviews of hybrid SACD's where the reviewers have concluded that recordings placed on the SACD and CD layers are different. So be careful!
A recent article published in an audio society journal, based on a double blind tests, determined that the key to high fidelity sound is in the quality of the mastering and recording of the music (not in the word length or sampling frequency). So the key is finding a well mastered recording. Many of the recordings which end up on SACD's are indeed better than their CD counterparts. However , this is not due to the SACD technology.
A recent article published in an audio society journal, based on a double blind tests, determined that the key to high fidelity sound is in the quality of the mastering and recording of the music (not in the word length or sampling frequency). So the key is finding a well mastered recording. Many of the recordings which end up on SACD's are indeed better than their CD counterparts. However , this is not due to the SACD technology.