diff --git a/doc/api/stream.md b/doc/api/stream.md
index a1d37e24e5..db2f5ccc25 100644
--- a/doc/api/stream.md
+++ b/doc/api/stream.md
@@ -920,13 +920,14 @@ added: v0.9.4
 * `encoding` {string} The encoding to use.
 * Returns: `this`
 
-The `readable.setEncoding()` method sets the default character encoding for
+The `readable.setEncoding()` method sets the character encoding for
 data read from the Readable stream.
 
-Setting an encoding causes the stream data
-to be returned as string of the specified encoding rather than as `Buffer`
+By default, no encoding is assigned and stream data will be returned as
+`Buffer` objects. Setting an encoding causes the stream data
+to be returned as strings of the specified encoding rather than as `Buffer`
 objects. For instance, calling `readable.setEncoding('utf8')` will cause the
-output data will be interpreted as UTF-8 data, and passed as strings. Calling
+output data to be interpreted as UTF-8 data, and passed as strings. Calling
 `readable.setEncoding('hex')` will cause the data to be encoded in hexadecimal
 string format.
 
@@ -934,10 +935,6 @@ The Readable stream will properly handle multi-byte characters delivered through
 the stream that would otherwise become improperly decoded if simply pulled from
 the stream as `Buffer` objects.
 
-Encoding can be disabled by calling `readable.setEncoding(null)`. This approach
-is useful when working with binary data or with large multi-byte strings spread
-out over multiple chunks.
-
 ```js
 const readable = getReadableStreamSomehow();
 readable.setEncoding('utf8');