diff --git a/lib/restler.js b/lib/restler.js
index 715845a..f65602b 100644
--- a/lib/restler.js
+++ b/lib/restler.js
@@ -134,17 +134,15 @@ mixin(Request.prototype, {
         self._fireError(err, response);
       }
     } else {
-      var body = '';
-
-      response.setEncoding('binary');
+      var body = new Buffer('');
 
       response.on('data', function(chunk) {
-        body += chunk;
+        body = Buffer.concat([body, new Buffer(chunk)]);
       });
 
       response.on('end', function() {
         response.rawEncoded = body;
-        self._decode(new Buffer(body, 'binary'), response, function(err, body) {
+        self._decode(body, response, function(err, body) {
           if (err) {
             self._fireError(err, response);
             return;