That is one of Pickering's first magnetic stereo cartridges, introduced about 1959/1960. It's confusing, since it's called a Model 380 Stanton, but it's really a Pickering.
I'm intimately familiar with this cartridge as it was the model used in my Uncle's Empire 298 that I grew up listening to. I even have one now, mostly for sentimental reasons.
It's a low-compliance cartiridge, and depending on what stylus you get for it has a tracking range of either 2~5 grams, or 3~7.
Original Pickering replacement styli were color-coded as to stylus type and tracking force requirements. All came with a diamond conical tip.
Red = 4 to 7 grams, for automatic record changers
Gold = 2 to 5 grams, for manual turntables
Black = 3 to 7 grams, 1 mil diamond stylus for mono microgroove records
Yellow = 3 to 7 grams, for 78 RPM discs
(I may have the black and yellow specs mixed up...I don't have access to my files handy right now) There was also a "blue" stylus but I can't remember what that was. (A sapphire tip maybe?)
Most styli available today tend to be the red type, though an original gold does pop up from time to time on ebay and other places. As for where to get styli, Ebay is your best bet. True replacements haven't been made for decades, and the examples on Ebay are usually OEM NOS examples. Even styli branded as Astatic, Phansteil, or Walco are more than likely to be true Pickering manufactured styli (and adhere to the color code.) They're cheap enough so play around. Other replacements of dubious origin don't adhere to the color code though, so assume they are equivalent to the "red" model, even if they are yellow, orange, or whatever.
You'd want to track no lighter than 3 grams with either the gold stylus, or 5 with the red stylus though. Heavier for each would be even better, even though my uncle used to track his red stylus 380 about 99% of the time successfully at *one gram.* (That's just asking for trouble though.)
You can also see here:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1960/ (go to page 74-75)
It's a really "BIG" sounding cartridge, smooth, mellow and very romantic sounding with a very 3D soundstage, though a poor tracker by today's standards. It has something of a cult following (like the similar Shure M3D.) If you play nothing too demanding, it is a very beguiling cartridge. If things get too demanding though, the soundstage collapses and can get very hard and muddy sounding. High frequency transients can give it fits if they are too loud or difficult to track. No Telarcs here, please!!
It's best used in high to very high mass arms. It's a very heavy cartridge and will not balance or mount properly in most modern arms. (Spacers are almost mandatory to mount in most headshells due to how it's designed.)
I'd say it's a poor match for the Thorens. The arm on that model looks a little too light for this beast. It'd be perfect on an original AR or Empire 98/980 arm though.
In the Stanton/Pickering family tree, it's a direct forefather of the 680/681 series.
