Is this a good HU for my needs?

[Gtrplyr]

I am very new to car audio, heck I just got my first car 3 weeks ago, a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix. I bought the car knowing that both rear speakers we completely blown, no sound comes out of them at all and the front driver side speaker is about to blow. The speakers in my car sound terrible. I can't turn up the volume at all or else it hurts my ears with all the distortion and flub I get from these blown speakers so I decided that with my next few paychecks I'm going to be upgrading my sound system.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a $2000 dollar system that will blow away the people down the street. I want to be able to crank it but I don't want the old man next to me at the stop light to give me the finger. I would like to keep the entire system (speakers, head unit, sub, amp if needed) under $500. I don't mind going over that a little but not by a lot.

Now I know that brand new speakers and a sub will not sound very good with a stock head unit so I'm starting here. With my next paycheck I'm going to buy a new head unit. I've been looking around and nothing is appealing to me at all. Why do all these head units have to have so many flashing colors and lights. I'm driving a car not Apollo 13. Anyways, I came across this head unit because it doesn't have 200 buttons on the front like every other head unit I've seen.

Clarion CZ401

What I want in a head unit is:

- Be able to plug in my iPod
- HD radio
- Doesn't look ridiculous
- Preferably be able to use my steering wheel controls

I don't think that's asking for too much. I hate buying features that I don't use. I don't need Bluetooth or satellite radio or OnStar. Will this allow me to connect 4 speakers and a sub to it and sound good? Thanks for reading! If you need more information please ask I will respond quickly!

[TheUnderFighter]

Yea, that will do everything you need, though you will need to buy the steering wheel control adapter.
Axxess ASWC Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface
PAC SWI-JACKv1 (swijackv1) Steering Wheel Interface Adapter that
either of those should work.
It's not the greatest HU, but few new ones are, and it will get everything done you need. At a good price, it's a good deal. Just don't pay more than it is here: Clarion CZ401 (CZ 401) CD/MP3/WMA Receiver w/ HD Radio, USB & Aux
And it has the capabilities to add an amp for the speakers, if you desire, or an amp if you want a subwoofer.

[Gtrplyr]

Do i need an amp to hook up a sub or does that just make it sound better? Also what is the difference between 2 volt and 4 volt preamp outputs?