Welsh Harlequin are very good for eggs, not so good for meat. They will give you a small dressed carcass that is a bit scrawny and their feed conversion isn't the greatest because they are designed to use their feed to produce eggs, not meat.
For meat that is quiet on the hoof, the Muscovy duck is the best. Their noise is very subdued, they dress out well and the meat is excellent. The feed conversion isn't the best unless you can provide a lot of forage for them.
For meat ducks, you can't beat the Pekin, closely followed by the Silver Appleyard. The Appleyard is also a heavy layer, so produces both meat and eggs.
My ducks (three breeds) make a huge fuss when I appear to let them out in the morning and whenever I show up with food. Then at random times during the day, the ducks will blast out a string of loud quacks for no reason that I can see. For the most part, though, the ducks are quiet. They aren't quiet enough so that nobody knows they are there, but not noisy enough to really be a nuisance.
I do not let them out until 9 AM so that they don't wake up any of the neighbors, because they are all quacking and fussing when I go out there. Until I let them out, they are quiet.
There is a lot of bubbling and murmuring going on, but it is rather quiet and not a disturbing noise.
The only breed of duck that has a reputation for being outrageously loud is the Call Duck, and they are not good as roasting ducks at all.
