diff --git a/lib/nntp.js b/lib/nntp.js
index 939afab..0281a97 100644
--- a/lib/nntp.js
+++ b/lib/nntp.js
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ NNTP.prototype.connect = function(options) {
     if (isErr || !chunk)
       return;
     if (self._stream === undefined)
-      self._buffer += chunk.toString(self._bufferEnc || 'utf8', start, end);
+      self._buffer += chunk.toString(self._bufferEnc || 'binary', start, end);
     else
       self._stream.emit('data', chunk.slice(start, end));
   }