Is TIDAL only for audiophiles?

No. TIDAL is not only for audiophiles, but that is still the audience most likely to feel its advantages quickly. Plenty of ordinary listeners can use it happily. The difference is that the better your gear and the more you care about sound, the easier it is to explain why you chose TIDAL instead of a broader default.

The reason this misconception survives is that TIDAL does have a clear centre of gravity. Its strongest case is still listeners who actually notice and value sound quality, better playback hardware, and an audio-first service identity, which is why people reduce it to a narrower stereotype than it really deserves.

If audio quality barely changes your behaviour, TIDAL can still work, but its strongest argument becomes less compelling than it is for a listener who actively notices playback quality. The real test is whether the service still holds up once you move beyond its most obvious audience and ask how it fits your own habits.

That makes TIDAL broader than the stereotype, but not infinitely broad. Its strengths remain lossless listening, HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos support, and a more specialist music-first identity than most general-purpose rivals, and those strengths still point more naturally toward some users than others.

Source: Official: TIDAL