Re: Duncan designed vs PRS designed
Both PRS and SD make great pickups and neither have any noise related issues if properly installed into a guitar with good electronics.
The quality of both makers is very high.
Tone is subjective and I imagine PRS pickups are a bit more expensive but Im not sure. I am sure SD makes comparable pickups to most of the PRS line but it's hard to say. Paul is very secretive about the specs of his pickups.
I owned a PRS Cu24 for quite awhile and I replaced the pickups, not because they were "bad" but they weren't quite what I wanted. As long as you get the tone you are looking for, both makers are excellent.